Earthbound
by The Huntress1
Summary: UPDATED: A little background info on a lot of people and events. Aidia gets the info she's been waiting for, and in a way, so does Jean.
1. In the beginning

**These characters aren't mine, also, I don't follow the shows continuity that closely in here. Fearless belongs Simon Pulse, and Francine Pascal**  
**2024**  
Harley lay cold between the sheets of her full-sized bed, waiting, eyes open wide, ears strained for the tell-tale turn of the lock.  
  
Waiting for her "Puddin'" to come busting angrily through the door.  No doubt, he'd had another run-in with the Batman.  
  
She reached down and clutched the burgundy comforter, pulling it up roughly under her chin.  Maybe he wouldn't bother her if she played dead.  Pretended she was asleep.  
  
She could hear the lock as it turned and the front door groaned in protest when the Joker opened it.  
  
She could hear the heaving of the couch as he threw his rain soaked body onto the dusty cushions, and then him mumbling and the sound of footsteps as he neared the closed bedroom door.  
  
Harley winced and then sighed silently in relief as he went towards the bathroom instead.  She listened as he growled in pain, dabbing peroxide on his cuts, and the tear of the medical tape.  
  
The bathroom light clicked as he turned it off, before coming back down the hallway stopping outside of the door.  He turned the knob, and the hall light fell across Harley's deathly still body.  She held her breath, clutching the small gold Star of David that hung tenderly around her neck.  
  
Joker didn't bother to close the door, and begin to undress, throwing his clothes down onto the floor, and around the small, ill-furnished bedroom.  "I know your awake Harley." he said coolly, Harley sighed again before turning over to face him.  
  
"Hiyah Puddin'," she said in a high, squeaky, Yiddish accented voice.  
  
Joker didn't respond, just proceeded to force her nightgown off of her body.  
  
"Puddin', w-what a-are you d-doing?" Harley asked in a shaky voice, reaching for Joker's arm.  
  
Joker back-handed her down onto the covers, silencing her.  
  
Harley looked to the doorway, small blue eyes peered terrified, blond hair like her mother's, why it was curly, no one knew, hanging loosely around her face.  She bit her lip, as he entered her, and lip-synched for the little girl to go back to her room.  Her eyes disappeared, and small feet plodded quickly down the hallway, back to false-safety.  
  
**  
  
Terry paced, breath floating like a cloud in front of him outside of the club entrance.  
  
He wondered if he should go back inside, try to make peace with Dana, apologize for being late again.  
  
They'd made a scene, she'd told him she was done, tired of waiting for him, tired of half-assed excuses that didn't explain anything, and worst of all, done with him.  
  
"I guess it had to end sometime." he said frowning lightly.  
  
He began to walk, where he didn't know, guess there was only one place to go, back to the cave.  
  
It took him an hour to get to the far-north end of the city, he'd have taken bus, but he didn't have any creds.  
  
He looked up, studying the sharp line that was a border to Wayne manor, where the pavement ended, and the long dirt-lane driveway began to wind up to the front gates.  
  
 He looked up to Bruce's house, majestic, surrounded by trees like a castle.  "_How fitting, oh Dark Knight._" he said bitterly.  
  
He began to trudge up the driveway, realizing he was becoming more and more like Bruce, destined for a lonely existence in a house with a dog.  
  
"What are you doing here?" a deep, painful voice asked.  
  
It belonged to Bruce Wayne, out on a midnight stroll.  
  
Terry jumped, "So now I'm not allowed to come to work is that it, are you done with me too?!" Terry sighed apologetically, feeling defeated, "Sorry, bad day."  
  
Bruce didn't answer, eyebrows arching, feigning interest.  
  
"She's tired of my excuses, tired of me leaving her out in the cold all the time. She's right though... You know a lot about women, maybe you can help m--" 

Terry was well aware of Bruce's status as a young man. Able to get any woman he wanted.  
  
Bruce raised his hand, stopping Terry mid-sentence.  
  
"Oh come on Bruce, you mean to tell me, all those girls and you didn't learn a thing?"  
  
Bruce shook his head, "You'll learn."  
  
"Learn what?!" Terry asked confused.  
  
"The only thing a man needs to know about a women is that when you bring one into your life, don't expect peaches and cream."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?!"  
  
"I'll tell you the day you become a man." Bruce said smiling slyly.  
  
"What are you talking about? I'm a man!"  
  
"A seventeen-year-old boy is not a man." Bruce said turning around, and beginning to walk away.  
  
"Hey, come on!" Terry yelled after him.  
  
Terry waiting, becoming angrier as Bruce walked away.  The harsh face of silence was even worse when you were freezing cold.  
  
"Fine!" he said, turning around and leaving, he didn't care if Wayne fired him.  
  
**  
  
Melanie sat on a bench in the park, head bent over the newest installment of _Fearless_, hunched down to ward off the cold, swearing up and down with every word that she was just like Gaia.  
  
The only difference was her father was there, very much there.  
  
She wondered if she could spend the night at Max's house again.  She knew it wasn't an issue with Max's parents, they were divorced, and her mother was never home.  
  
Now what to tell her own mother... She'd have to think of that when she got there.  
  
Gathering her bag, and placing a fallen leaf between the pages to hold her sheet, Melanie stood to leave.  She walked while putting her book in her bag, walking headfirst into another kid.  
  
"Oops, sorry." she said, reaching down to pick up her book.  
  
"That's alright, my fault." he responded, handing to her instead.

Melanie rubbed the tender spot on her forehead where she'd clumsily walked into the other person. Looking up, she began to blush furiously as he smiled. He had nice Raven hair, cut into a chili-bowl, and sharp blue eyes that sparkled with the night. She sighed as she began to thank him again.  
  
"Hey, no sweat. Besides, what's a girl as beautiful as you doing out here anyway, it's like 12:47 already."  
  
"Anything just to avoid going home." Melanie answered quietly.  
  
He frowned with concern, "Is there something going on between you and your folks?"  
  
Melanie nodded, "Nothing that can't be put off for a few hours."  
  
"Where are you headed? It wouldn't be very gentleman-like if I didn't walk you."  
  
Melanie smiled appreciatively, "I was on my way to a friend's house, maybe you know her, Max, Max Gibson?"  
  
He smiled, "You know Max? Wow, she's one of my best friend's."  
  
"Strange, she never mentioned you before, what's your name?"  
  
"Terrence McGinnis, but everyone just calls me Terry." he said extending his hand. "What's yours?"  
  
"Melanie Quinn." she said with a small smile, excepting his hand.  
  
"Any special nicknames?" Terry asked.  
  
"Well, my mom calls me 'Sunny'..."  
  
"Do you mind if I call you Sunny?" Terry asked, tilting his head.   
  
"No, it can be our little secret." she said with a devious smile.  
  
"My kinda secret!" Terry said smiling back.  
  
The two turned out of the park, and headed northeast towards Max's apartment together.  
  
**  
  
"Where is she?!" The Joker asked, his voice straining with rage.  
  
Harley trembled in the corner, arms wrapped around her knees, shrinking away from the horrifying figure across the room.  
  
The Joker grabbed a bowl off the card table that doubled as a dining room table, and hurled it at the wall.  
  
"I-I-I-I don't k-know, she hasn't been home all day." Harley offered.  
  
The Joker suddenly took a deep breath, and walked calmly towards Harley, a soothing smile on his face. "Gee Harl, why am I yelling at you, it's not your fault Melanie's missing."  
  
Harley shrank back further into the corner, she'd learned long ago not to let her guard down.  
  
The Joker stopped in front of her and stooped down onto his haunches, reaching out, he began to stroke Harley's cheek.  
  
Harley closed her eyes immediately. Calling his bluff, her head smacked loudly against the wall as the Joker punched her. Without wasting any time, she let her body go limp as he grabbed her by the arms and threw her violently into the wall.  
  
Harley crumpled to the floor unconscious, blood dribbling from her nose and lip, a black eye forming.  
  
The Joker bit his lip and walked away, still seething. He collapsed onto the couch and decided that he'd deal with his daughter whenever she decided to make an appearance.


	2. Reverie

Bruce sat by himself in the cave, staring at the expansive screen before. McGennis obviously had someone up in heaven looking out for him, as there was nothing going on that needed Batman's attention. But that could always change, and that's what made Bruce severely consider cutting his pay. The only reason that he didn't was because Terry's mother needed all the help she could get, now that she couldn't depend on Terry's father for child support.  
  
Bruce sighed, where the hell was that boy?  
  
Bruce placed the heel of his hand under his chin and thought about the conversation he'd had with Terry earlier. When Terry had suggested that Bruce knew anything about women. That in-turn led to thoughts about his failed marriages. The first was with predictably Selina Kyle. They'd had a daughter, naming her Aidia. She was the most beautiful baby girl he'd ever seen, with eyes that sparkled like diamonds, and the softest brown hair.   
  
Bruce took a deep breath, the last thing he wanted to think about was how things had ended with Selina and Aidia.   
  
The second marriage had been strained, but much more fruitful, as he'd reestablished a relationship with, and married Helena Bertinelli. They'd had three boys, two of which were full grown with their own children.   
  
The youngest was Thomas Wayne Jr., whom they all called Thomas J. like the character from the movie _My Girl._ He'd been born with gray eyes that shined so brightly and penetrated so deeply, they could only be described as silver. He was 21 now, and was almost ready to graduate from Art school.   
  
Bruce was incredibly proud of his sons, but hardly got the chance to speak to them. When they'd gotten divorced, Helena had taken their second son Issac along with Thomas J. and moved back to New York City. Back in Gotham, Bruce had been forced to watch them grow up through letters, and on the phone. He'd plunged into depression.   
  
His relationship with Issac had been lost, as Issac had blamed Bruce for the divorce. That along with the loss of Aidia had been practically intolerable. But somehow through it all, he'd managed to hold onto his oldest son Shane, and Thomas J. Giving them everything he could during the few weeks they'd spent together every six months.  
  
Bruce reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Unfolding it, he pulled out the four pictures of his children that he kept behind his credit cards.  
  
Aidia smiling brightly in front of the Great Wall of China at the age of two.  
  
Shane standing next to his surf board on Anini Beach in Hawaii, flashing a large smile and a peace sign. His pale-blond hair shining in the sunlight.  
  
Issac looking sleepy on the morning of the last birthday he'd spent at Wayne Manor.  
  
And Thomas J. smiling mischeiviously as he held up one of his 10th grade report cards, on which he'd made a 3.986.  
  
Bruce stared sadly at the pictures, running his fingers across the glossed surface of each. These were just pictures, not flesh and blood. He smiled grimly, and wished his children blessings that he couldn't give them. 

**  
  
Terry opened his eyes and looked around, reality slowly filtering into his early morning mindset.  
  
"Oh my God!" he said quickly realizing where he was, on the floor in the middle of Max's living room. Max lay asleep, arms draped across her still-on laptop. Melanie lay across the couch Terry's jacket substituting as a blanket, popcorn was scattered across the floor, product of a very productive food-fight.  
  
Terry ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit, and quickly slipped on his shoes.  
  
Tip-toeing over to the desk, he gently proded Maxine awake. "What time is it?" he asked her, as his eyes flashed to his bare wrist.  
  
Max wiped the small line of drool from the corner of her mouth, and looked at the clock in the right corner of her screen. "Geez, Terry it's only four-thirty!" she whispered in a croaky voice.  
  
"Aye, I've got to get back to Wayne's,... he's gonna use me for kindling!"  
  
"Kindling?" Max asked confusedly.  
  
"Firewood, before our time, Bruce says it every now and then. Did you know that the fireplace's at his house actually burn wood?"  
  
"Whoa, get outta here, but then, that's kinda what one would expect when the house has been in the family since like colonial times."  
  
"Actually, his great-great Grandfather Jack bought it for his wife Jane and their new family right before the Civil war." Terry said as he yawned.  
  
Max shrugged, "Hmmmm, who'd 'a' thunk it?" she said with a smile.  
  
Terry looked over to Melanie, "Just tell her she can borrow it 'til I see her next, I gotta go back to work, man I'm fried." he groaned.  
  
"It's saturday, we can all sleep 'til nine and watch some cartoons, come on, it'll be fun!" she said.  
  
"I'm not paying you to sleep!" Terry said, imitating Bruce deep, irritated tone.  
  
"Alright, see ya." Max said laughing lightly, before settling onto the spot Terry had just occupied, as Terry left and closed the door behind himself.  
  
**  
  
Bruce sat in the kitchen enjoying his second cup of coffee, rubbing his tired eyes, but ignoring the stabbing fatigue of sleeplessness.  
  
Ace lay at his feet, padding a chew bone back and forth between each paw boredly.  
  
Bruce's eyebrows rose, as the wall phone rang, it's shrill tone echoing throughout the kitchen.  
  
"Yes." he said sighing silently.  
  
"Hey Pop!" came an excited voice from the other end. "It's your favorite!"  
  
Bruce rubbed his temple, trying to hold back his smile. "What is it Thomas?" he asked trying to sound irritated.  
  
"Well, um... I'd like to get in, as I've managed to loose my key for the sixth..."  
  
"Your outside?!" Bruce asked standing quickly. Marching to the window, he looked down the path, and saw the strong frame standing before the front gates.  
  
"How many times have I told you about leaving your keys everywhere?" Bruce said entering the lock code into the panel by the door.  
  
"Must be the twentieth time, _at least_." Thomas J. said with a smile as the gates slowly slid open. Rushing quickly up the path, he closed his cell phone.  
  
Ace scratched at the oak double-doors, anxious for the arriving youngest son.  
  
Bruce opened the door, and applied a stern look as his son quickly hugged him and stepped back.  
  
"What?!" Thomas J. asked exasperatedly.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Bruce asked, suspicion tightening his throat.  
  
Thomas J. scratched the back of his neck and began to look everywhere but at his father.  
  
"I'm waiting." Bruce stated impatiently.  
  
"Jesus, can't I just come visit my Papa, without the third-freakin'-degree."  
  
"No." Bruce said crossing his arms.  
  
"Man it's dark in here, maybe we should open up a few of those windows, maybe let a little air in..." Thomas J. said trying to side-step his father.  
  
Bruce quickly grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back to his original place.  
  
"Why?"  
  
Thomas groaned angrily, his face reddening in shame. "I'm been suspended indefinitely." he said quietly, refusing to look his father in the eye.  
  
Bruce stepped back, face frozen in thoughtful shock. Taking a few seconds to let it process he readied hiimself for his next question. "Why?"  
  
Thomas sighed defeatedly, "They found drugs in my bag, and I was unable to prove they weren't mine."  
  
"Are they?!" Bruce asked angrily.  
  
Thomas winced, not from the question, but from the tone, "No way! Someone's framed me, I swear, I mean I'm at the top of my class, what the heck do I need drugs for?"  
  
Bruce considered his son's words, "How were they discovered?"  
  
"Someone called in with an anonymus tip, they totally stormed me at like three in the morning, and had me out by four, they didn't even give me a gosh-dang drug test!"  
  
"Gosh-dang?" Bruce asked with a hint of a smile.  
  
Thomas shrugged, "I don't like the other word, so I modified it for my use."  
  
The two entered the kitchen, where Bruce offered him a seat at the breakfast table. "Have you told your mother?"  
  
"God, no! She'd come all the way down here just to put her foot up my ass!"  
  
"You don't tell her yourself, I will." Bruce said eyes flashing to the phone.  
  
"You're not going to call her now are you, I mean it's only four-" he quickly looked at his watch, "fifty-six."  
  
"Why wouldn't I?" Bruce asked, taking another sip of his coffee.  
  
Thomas J. scratched behind Ace's ears as he thought, "Just give me a few days, then I'll tell her myself."  
  
Bruce nodded, and the two of them sat in comfortable silence, as the grandfather clock struck five, it's harmonious chimes, echoing throughout the first floor.


	3. Hide and Seek

**December 24th, 2008**

Bruce sat in the back of his black sudan, calmly brushing the stray pieces of lint that clung to the frabic of his fedora to the floor. He placed it back on his head, and tucked it lower, shielding his eyes in a shadow.

  
He subconsciously began to hum, his low baritone voice resonating through his eardrums at a smooth, cheerful tone. His thoughts on his young daughter at home.

  
Aidia had been thoroughly excited for the past two weeks, counting down the days to Christmas, as her mother placed large red X's on each of the respective days.  They'd all sat together in front of the television, watching all the little Christmas specials that came on GBC.  Aidia asking if Santa Claus was going to bring her presents.  
Selina had quickly corrected her on the proper pronunciation of Saint Nicholas, and he himself went into the whole history behind the celebrated Saint, and how the name "Santa Klaus" came into use. Then the both of them quickly told her that Santa Claus wasn't real, just a folk tale that people told their kids in the spirit of the original. Aidia had appeared slightly crushed, but had gotten over it by the time the commercials had ended.

  
Selina had bought Aidia a Spanish children's book called "Feliz Navidad!" and used it to teach her the history behind the celebrations.  Then Bruce had read her _The Night Before Christmas_, using the same pop-up book that his father had given him as a young boy.

  
Aidia had helped her mother, and Alfred decorate the house in garish design the entire week, and marveled at the large trees that had been put up in the more frequented rooms. Large mounds of presents sat under the biggest tree, adressed to several of Bruce and Selina's closest friends, but the majority were as expected for Aidia.

  
Bruce looked at his watch, it was only 6:20. He smiled, Selina and Aidia weren't expecting him for a few more hours. But he'd let everyone off early in anticipation for the coming holiday.  His smile widened considerably, for him at least, as the car pulled into the long driveway that lead up to Wayne Manor, his father's house.  After all this time, even now as he raised his own familia inside it's secure walls, he still thought of it as his father's house.

  
Quickly he thanked Alfred with a nod as the aging butler opened his door for him, and pulled the last of his Christmas shopping bags from the trunk. He turned startled, as Alfred called out in concern.

  
Bruce stared at the front steps of his home, the double-doors ajar. He dropped the bags and rushed into the house. Alfred was right behind him.  He balled his hands into fists, and quickly punched the splintered frame of the door as he surveyed the scene before him. The trees had been knocked over, and the gift contents had been strewn haphazardly across the great room floor. Furniture had been broken into pieces, and the hanging decorations had been pulled down, and shredded into shards of evergreen and plaid red.

  
Bruce's eyes scanned over the remains of the house, cursing under his breath severely. He felt his breath catch in his throat as he caught sight of his parent's portrait. A long slash divided the two, and several sections had been ripped from the painting all together.

  
Bruce clutched his temples and closed his eyes, trying to cast away the glaring red pain growing behind his forehead. He raised his eyes to Alfred, small tears forming at the corners. "Who would...?" he asked hopelessly.

  
Alfred rested his hands on Bruce's shoulders, but remained silent, not sure what he could say to soften the moment. Suddenly realization flashed in his charge's eyes, and the worried man rushed up to the second floor of house without turning back around.

  
Alfred looked over the chaos sadly, himself without the slightest idea who would have the intense hatred in his heart capable of causing such unjustified pain in his master's life. 

He found himself jolted unpleasantly from his thoughts as a tortured cry swallowed the house in it's hollow, raw conviction.  Alfred was soon at the younger man's side, his hand stifling his comments, eyes glazed over with wonder.  
At their feet lay the lifeless body of Selina, cuts and bruises covered her exposed skin. Bruce sank to his knees, and took her into his arms, burying his head into the nape of her neck. He sobbed furiously, only calming slightly as her bloodied hand caressed his cheek. He raised his head, and looked at her, their silence filling the room with uncertainty.  
"Bruce," she said weakly, "They came out of nowhere, they took our baby, there were so many of them, the bastards." she choked out.

  
"Shhh," Bruce said placing his finger to her lips, before cradling her, holding her protectively against his chest. "I'll find them, I'll make them pay for what they've done."

  
Alfred quietly excused himself out of the room and went about the task of cleaning up the great room. His brow creased in determination, and worry. There were few men who had the... need... to do something like this, particularly to Master Bruce. But there was only one man, who had the actual resources, the means to do such a dastardly act... 

***

  
A small trembling form crouched in the corner of her the bed, her legs pulled up to her chest, tears streaming miserably down her small face.

  
Before her stood three figures, one large and musclebound with a bald head, another a woman with long hair that obscured one of her eyes, and the last a man with black hair streaked in white, and eyes so cold they made her shiver.  "I want my Daddy." the young girl whispered, wiping the hot tears from her eyes.

  
The last man spoke first, "Oh come now, I've saved you from mediocracy, growing up under the misguided efforts of The Detective and his wife The Catwoman." His voice was thick with an accent she'd never heard before, his was different than her mother's and she could only half understand what he said.

  
"What is your name?" the woman asked, her voice was also tinged with a similar accent, but was thick with some unknown emotion. Maybe hate?

  
The girl shook her head back and forth, "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." she said, burying her face in her knees.

  
The last man spoke again, "I am Ra's Al Ghul, this is my daughter Talia, and my assistant Ubu, you are a very fortunate young girl, to think you were almost brought up in such a wretched existence in Gotham."

  
"I don't want to talk to you, I want my Daddy!" she screamed suddenly, erupting into another round of tears.  
Ra's sighed, "I don't think you understand my dear, I suppose I should explain it in a way that would make sense to you, as your father has done nothing to develop your mind as it seems..."

  
He walked to her bedside and stared down at her, she proceeded to scoot as close to the opposite bedpost as possible. "Your father, The Detective was already a good man, but he was to become a great man, he was to become my heir and rule after me, finalizing my dream to a utopian earth, but he foolishly rejected my offer as well as my daughter. You," he said reaching over, and taking her chin, "are the child they should have had together, and are rightfully my heir. I will raise you as my granddaughter, and Talia will become as your mother, Ubu as your uncle and godfather." he paused, "Now tell us child, what is your name?"

  
"Aidia." she whispered quietly.

  
"Now get some sleep my precious child, you will rise in the morning for your first lessons." 

**11:47pm, Christmas Day**

  
"Nothing! Absolutely nothing! I've gone over this entire house from top to bottom, four times Alfred!" Bruce said collapsing into a heap on the floor.

  
Alfred stood nearby, worry etched into his face, genuinely afraid for his charge's mental health. Master Bruce hadn't slept for the past forty-five or more hours. Twenty-eight of which had been spent turning the Manor over half in rage, and half in desperation. Master Bruce had denied continually the possibility that he wouldn't find their child, but now it was becoming more and more apparent that their Angel was gone forever.

  
Alfred reassigned his attention to Master Bruce who had crawled into a ball on the floor, with his face in the rug. He let out a low wail, and punched the floor savagely, his fingers burning against the friction.  "Master Bruce, perhaps a hot shower, a meal, and a good night's sleep would make for a renewed spirit in the morning." Alfred said, well aware that Bruce was hardly ready to sleep.

  
To his surprise Bruce relented, standing slowly, his face unshaven, eyes wild with stress. Alfred watched with a small reassurance as he turned for the stairway, then new anxiety as Bruce instead tore for the cave.

  
"Master Bruce, you really should get some rest." Alfred pleaded.

  
Bruce rushed towards the changing room, and stopped just short of entering. Staring in anger at his various suits, and the trophies he'd acquired through his years of rigorous training.

  
"Sir, maybe it is too soon to say, we really shouldn't give up hope that young Aidi," he started as he joined Bruce.

  
"There's nothing there Alfred," Bruce moaned, "Not fingerprints, not footprints, fragments of clothing, hair,... NOTHING!"

  
"We do know it was Ra's Al Ghul don't we sir?" Alfred asked timidly.

  
"Yes, of course, but that doesn't tell me where he is, what he's doing, why it is he's doing this. I--know--absolutely--NOTHING!"

  
Alfred remained silent, stepping back a few paces to allow Bruce room incase he ran through his fist through the wall.  Instead Bruce grabbed the nearest suit, a lightweight summer get-up, and raced back up the stairs, Alfred trying desperately to keep up.  He soon found the troubled man outside of his home, in the middle of the commodious front yard, the suit at his feet.  He also found Bruce had managed to grab a gasoline can and a book of matches on the way outside before Alfred had even made it to the first step.  "Master Bruce..."

  
"Quiet Alfred." Bruce said in a unnervingly even voice.

  
Alfred watched as Bruce poured gasoline over the suit and struck a match. 

  
"Alfred, what is he doing?" asked the tired voice of Selina, Bruce's wife, Aidia's mother behind him. Alfred didn't have the will to answer, locked in awe at the sight.

  
They heard, back in the great room, the Grandfather clock strike twelve, it's chime ringing harmoniously through the three figures ears. Bruce waited a tense moment with uncaring eyes, and threw the match onto the suit. The entire thing went up instantly in a fiery haze, the heat enough to drive both Alfred and Selina back a few paces.

  
Bruce stayed put, tears streaming torturously down his cold, expressionless face. His knees began to shake, and gave out, lowering him to the grass.  He raised his face to the heavens and let out a horrible scream.

  
Alfred and Selina looked up suddenly as a swarm of bats appeared over them, blanketing the sky. Their wings flapping thunderously across the great expanse.

  
Before them stood something more than a man, he was the master of something they could never conceive, the bats themselves respected him, and he had been broken.

  
Selina took a few steps forward, then slowly, unsure of his reaction, wrapped her arms around his neck and lowered herself to her knees.  Bruce turned slightly and buried his face in the nape of her neck, as she stroked his hair. "I can't be Batman anymore Selina..."

  
"Shhh." she insisted quietly, kissing his forehead.

  
"No, how can I be expected to protect an entire city, if I can't even keep my daughter out of harm's reach?"  
Selina closed her eyes, leaning against him for support, unable to answer the question.

  
**Present Day**

  
Thomas J. sat lazily on the couch, pressing the television remote control over and over, each channel blinking before him for only a second before he changed it again.  He let a long line of drool purposely slid down his chin, and spot his shirt.  
Bruce sat next to him staring in fascination. His son was a master at improvisation. They could be just sitting there having a conversation, and all of a sudden, Thomas J. would just zone out, letting his eyes blur, and face become blank. The first few times he had done it, at age twelve, he'd scared his mother half to death and proceeded to get himself grounded for the entire summer. Bruce had later convinced Helena to overturn the sentence, claiming he meant no harm, and that she was just a bad sport.

  
Shane had jokingly accused him of favoring Thomas J. which they all knew wasn't actually true.  Not entirely anyway.

  
It was now a little after ten o' clock at night, and Thomas had made a big show out of watching _Blue's Clue™s_, and _Dora the Explorer™_ on _Nick Jr. ™_ the next morning. Something they'd done regularly when he was a toddler. They'd both slept past it that morning, and Thomas was determined not to let it happen again.

  
Across from them sat a barely awake Terry, his eyes fluttering up and down, for the most part unresponsive to Bruce's calls.

  
Thomas snapped out of his trance and stared at the teenager, just four years younger than him. He didn't really have that good of an impression of the guy, as he'd only broken into the batcave and stolen his father's suit. But Thomas wasn't one to let prejudices get in the way of potential friendships, so he had given Terry the benefit of the doubt that morning when they'd finally met. He turned to his father, "A bit of a late start isn't it?"

  
Bruce nodded, and stood. Raising his cane a few feet, he whacked Terry on the shins, causing him to wake up quite suddenly and irritably. Just the perfect combination for crime fighting, as one can't fight crime without some sense of drive.

  
"Good morning Sunshine!" Thomas sang with a chuckle. Terry stared at them both angrily; he'd been having a great dream about putting in a guest appearance on _The Man Show™_ on _Comedy Central™_. He'd even convinced Dana to get on the trampoline. "Dammit." he cursed, rising from his seat. 

  
He yawned, then looked back and forth from Senior to Junior Wayne, and for the life of him couldn't imagine how the two of them could be related. Sure, they possessed similar features, but their personalities were completely flipped. Thomas J. had to be the goofiest guy over twenty he had ever met, the guy laughed at everything. And Bruce...  As it appeared he didn't even know what a laugh was anymore. But it was also apparent that Bruce thoroughly enjoyed his son's company. He hadn't seen the guy so at ease at any time since he'd met him. He obviously adored his children, and Terry was happy for him for that.

  
He turned to Thomas, "So are you joining me or what?"

  
"Whoa, oh no, I don't do the vengeance thing. Besides when you come from a family of superheroes, it's a little 'old hat' if you know what I mean."

  
"Family of superheroes..?" Terry asked, noting Bruce's sudden agitation. Terry had never inquired as to the scope of Bruce's reach when it came to the people around him. All he knew was there were two Robin's, and he was satisfied.

  
"Yeah, uh gee... Dick and Tim of course. My mom, my godmother and father..."

  
"Your mom..?" Terry asked surprised.

  
"Yeah, Helena Bertinelli, school teacher by day, ass-kicker by night...?"  
Terry's face remained blank.

  
"Geez, doesn't this kid know anything?" he asked rolling his eyes.

  
"No." Bruce said in a flat tone, indicating the conversation was over.

  
The three of them headed towards the clock. Bruce turned and stared at Thomas expectantly.

  
"What?" Thomas asked, as if there was nothing out of place.

  
"I thought you don't do the 'vengeance thing'?"

  
"I never said I didn't want to watch, besides seeing Terry get kicked in the balls sounds like such fun!' Thomas answered enthusiastically

.  
"Thanks." Terry called up the stairs.

  
"Your welcome." Thomas said genuinely as he started down the stairs, Bruce following, rolling his eyes at the comment.

  
--#--

  
A young woman sat reading a french magazine, and enjoying a small gin on her trans-atlantic flight, smiling pleasantly as the p.a. system announced the plane's decent into Gotham Internation Airport, gate 327-B.

  
Her soft, wavy brown hair, flowing from under a custom made fedora, curved over her shoulders, accentuating the button-down shirt she wore, cuffs un-done, first three buttons as well. Her cleavage was showcased nicely by the outfit, which when complete included her pinstripe skirt, and the matching jacket, which lay folded across the seat next to her. 

She replaced the magazine into her carry-on, and finished her drink, handing the empty glass to a passing flight-attendant. Buckling her seatbelt, she prepared for the landing, tensing her body, and checking her earplugs to make sure they were lodged firmly in her ear canal.

  
Upon landing, she regained the rest of her luggage at the baggage claim including the cage that held her infant pet tiger Ali-Aamir, and caught a taxi to the Gotham Plaza, across the street from Wayne International, the newly established Wayne Enterprises world headquarters. 

Upon reaching her room, she immediately let Ali out of his cage, and cradled him. The plane ride had made him cranky, and he now moaned insatiably. She fed him and eventually he calmed down, falling asleep on one of the many pillows atop her bed. Walking to the window, she stared at the Gold monogram labeling the Wayne building, the name ringing a distinct and rather nagging bell in her memory. But she couldn't place it. Shrugging, she undressed, save for her underwear and set up her laptop. After finally finding a phone jack, she logged onto the internet and checked her e-mail. There were a few letters from her brother Jean-Xavier about their grandfather's health. She read them quickly, and then decided to reply later on.

  
Now Relaxed, she changed completely out of her clothes, showered, and lay down to take a short nap. Setting the bedside alarm clock for 2:30am, she kissed Ali on the top of his fuzzy head and settled down to sleep. She had a busy night ahead of her. 

***

Batman sat boredly atop the Wayne International building, staring vacantly at the stars. Yawning, he looked at his watch, only 2:28am. The city had been completely devoid of crime for the past two nights, it was as if the crooks had all gone on some kind of unscheduled holiday or something. Oh well, he should be happy there was nothing going on, he could get home earlier.

  
--#--

  
The alarm clock slashed through her sleepy dreams like a sharpened machete. Groaning, one hand went to her forehead, the other to her alarm clock. She quickly cut its shrill cry before Ali had a chance to pounce on it. Turning over, she kicked the covers back and picked Ali's groggy form up, holding him over her. He groaned softly, startled by the sudden movement.

  
"Hey cutie, how's about you and I get going?" she asked, her American dialect accented by the French and Arabic she'd become accustomed to speaking for the past few years.

  
Ali of course eyed her silently. She sighed setting him back down, watched as he curled back into a little ball.

  
Rising, she began to set out two separate outfits. One she was going out in tonight, which consisted of a black Kevlar cat suit, with an invisible zipper that ran up the front, and a white screen-print of a tiger on the back and a light-weight utility belt holding all the tools she would need for her job. Finished off by a pair of goggles, that would allow her to see in the dark. The other was a _Hotkiss_™_ clipped-sleeveless shirt whose sides were purposely accentuated with about fifteen safety pins each, and a shin length dirty-denim __Diesel™ skirt. She also pulled out a pair of aviator glasses in the shade of her skirt. This outfit was for tomorrow._

  
Quickly she got dressed, and grabbed a reluctant Ali, placing him across her neck He began to cry out in protest, digging one of his tiny claws into her shoulder.

  
She cried out, ignoring the urge to throw him from her, and picked him up. Holding him away from her, she shared a few harsh words in French with him that she had used during his house-breaking to symbolize he'd done something wrong.

  
He cried out fearfully, never liking the position, and she relented, placing him back on her shoulders. Smiling, she pulled the goggles up to her forehead, and checked her e-mail once more.

  
Jean-Xavier was now stateside as well, staying the night in New York, before he would join her the next afternoon. She was to spend all of her time until then concentrating on finding the Batman, and detailing his actions.

  
Exiting through the window, she used the grooves between the bricks to climb to the roof. Looking out over the city, she was surprised to find her quarry sitting not but fifty feet away.  Snorting with annoyance, she remembered her grandfather's many words on the Batman, and how he was not easily belittled in his glory days. When he'd surfaced, she'd been called on to confront him for some reason or another, she hadn't needed an answer. She'd spent the last few years training non-stop for the encounter.

  
Walking to the edge of the roof, she calculated the distance between her building and the next, deciding that it was too far to jump. Instead, she reached into a pocket on her belt, and pulled out a single hook grappling hook, and threw it across the mostly empty street below her. Pulling it, to check its security, she latched her end to the ledge below her, and tight-roped across.

  
--#--

  
Batman leaned back, and sighed. Absolutely nothing was going on; this was a complete waste of time. He pressed his comm.-link, "Come on Bruce, this is fruitless. I think it's pretty safe to say, the freaks aren't coming out tonight."

  
He chuckled, as he heard Thomas J. go into his own rendition of "The freaks come out at night!" and Bruce hush him quickly.

  
"Stay out for another thirty minutes just to be sure, it's still pretty early."

  
"*groan* Alright, as you wish your majesty. Over."

  
"You said Bruce, tell me, who is this Bruce you speak of, his name sounds familiar to me." a feminine voice said from behind him.

  
"Ahhhh!" Batman yelped nearly falling over. Turning around, he stared at the figure before him. Thinking quickly he blurted, "I didn't say Bruce, I said uh... err..."

  
"You said Bruce, I heard you, and those were your exact words." she said quietly. "Don't worry; I have no desire to pry into that which is not my business."

  
"Who are you speaking to?" Bruce asked through the comm.-link.

  
"Uhhh, I don't know, I didn't even hear her come up." Batman rubbed the back of his neck nervously, searching for the right words to say. "Who are you?"

  
"I am not obliged to say, I am on business for my grandfather, your presence is needed at his estate, which is all I know."

  
"Whoa, uh I don't even know your grandfather, let alone you."

  
"Don't worry, the time is not at hand just yet, I will take leave now, and contact you later with more details." she said quickly leaving. 

_***_

Selina Kyle lay half-asleep in her bed. Coming to her senses fully as a shadow fell across her from the window. She tensed her body, feigning slumber, as the shadow opened her window and crept inside. 

Springing up, she ran at the assailant, striking them on the shoulder. The attacker recovered quickly, and turned, ducking under her other arm, and grasping both wrists, drawing them behind her.

  
Selina growled, "There's only one person I've ever let hold me like this, and they're not a part of my life anymore!"

  
"Shhh, I have not come with any threat against you or your possessions."

  
Selina pulled surprised that as small as the figure was, their grip was unbelievably sure. "Fine!" she relented angrily, as they released her instantly and stepped back. 

  
"Who are you?" she asked, staring at the shadow before her, surprised to see they wore an outfit similar to hers as Catwoman, and that at their feet was a baby tiger. She smiled adoringly, at the little warrior who stood in a protective stance, growling as much and as loud as its little voice box could take.

  
"As I told someone else tonight, I am not obliged to say, I am here on the behalf of my grandfather who requests your presence at his estate. It is with great regret that his health is failing and he is on his deathbed." she finished with strain.

  
Selina stared at her, it was obvious that she was hurting, and she was almost sad to tell her there was nothing she could do. "I'm sorry sweetie, but I don't know you or your grandfather, and hardly know why he needs me there."

  
"He told me that you were owed an explanation to an event in your past involving myself but he wouldn't say anymore. He said to take it up with a man named Wayne."

  
Selina shuddered at the sound of the name "Wayne". She knew who her grandfather was referring to: her ex-husband Bruce Wayne.

  
Selina turned away from the young woman, "What does he need with Bruce and I? Especially together, one would think he doesn't know that we're divorced." Selina remarked solemnly, her eyebrows rising with emotion.

  
The young woman stepped back, "I-I did not know, he just gave instructions that I find Batman and yourself. And that I tell you to give consultation with a man named Wayne. I have received no other instructions pertaining to your visit."

  
"Do you know why he wants me there?" Selina asked, wrapping her arms around herself.

  
"That was not my concern; my only duty was to—"

  
"What a minute," Selina interrupted, "you said you had to find the Batman. What does he have to do with this?"

  
The figure stepped back, "As I told you, I do not know. My brother will see you tomorrow, he knows much more than I, as I have other duties on my own to attend to. Good night Ms. Kyle." and with that she and the tiger were gone.

  
--#--

  
She sat down on the ledge outside Ms. Kyle's window and sighed, that had been hard work. 

Sliding off the narrow space, she took to the air, Ali clinging to her shoulder blades, enjoying the rush of wind on her face as she sped towards the ground. At the last possible moment, she produced another grappling hook and latched onto a building. Swinging upward, she arched her body, and sailed through the air, coming to a graceful landing on a rooftop not far from Ms. Kyle's.

  
"What exactly _are_ you up to?"

  
She spun quickly, surprised to find the Batman behind her.

  
"I saw you leave that apartment, what were you doing in there?" he asked in a slightly menacing voice, not at all as scary as her mother had boasted.

  
"That is none of your business!"

  
"And here I thought you were harmless, silly me. I followed you, I saw you go in, and I saw you leave. Now, where's the stash?"

  
"I beg your pardon?" she asked angrily, "Are you placing me on the same level as a common criminal?"

  
"You said it." he remarked sarcastically.

  
Her back went rigid and she stared at him, her bosom heaving in anger, "How dare you! I am _never_ to be placed on the level as a _crook_! I--under absolutely NO circumstances--_ever steal!"_

  
Batman stared ahead with a clueless expression on his face, taken aback by her outburst; she hadn't struck him as having a temperament. Taking a moment to recover, he tried a new line of questioning: "Ummm, fine, what are you doing here?"

  
"I was on my way back to my hotel room." she said as if it were obvious to any fool.

  
"No, I meant in Gotham. What're you doing here?"

  
"I already told you, now if you excuse me, I have appointments to keep."

  
He reached out and grabbed her arm, "Look, as long as you're willing to play by the rules. I figure I can help you out a little."

  
She turned, finding herself strangely calmed by his touch. Of course, she reasoned to herself, the Batman had had that same effect on her mother. Her grandfather often spoke of him with a tone of pride, as if he were his own son.

 Unfortunately, the Batman and her grandfather had come onto bad terms when he'd refused the opportunity to live the life of a king, married to her mother. She was told that she was the child of the original Batman, and her mother. 

Knowing this, she pulled out of his grip; this was by far not the original. This was not her father.

  
"You have no say in the affairs of my life. Your only concern is that of my grandfather."

  
"Just who is your grandfather anyway?" Batman asked.

  
She sighed, knowing that he wouldn't let her leave until she told him that much. "Why Ra's Al Ghul of course."

  
--#--

  
Bruce began to cough painfully, grasping his chest.

  
"Dad, are you okay?" Thomas asked coming to his side.

  
"Yes, yes. Terry, ask her to repeat herself."

  
--#--

  
Batman cocked his eyebrow in confusion, "Uhhh, okay. Hey, um could you repeat that, I'm not sure I heard you correctly."

  
She huffed annoyed, "As I stated, Ra's Al Ghul."

  
--#--

  
Bruce leaned back in shock, staring at the screen blankly.

  
"Dad, what, what is it?!' Thomas asked bewilderedly.

  
"Terry, give me visual, ask her to take off her goggles so I can see her face."

  
--#--

  
"Ummm," Batman said switching to visual for his employer, "This might sound really odd, but could you kinda take off your goggles?"

  
She groaned impatiently, "I really don't see why that's necessary..." she said reaching for the eye wear that obstructed her face.

  
Just as she began to pull them up, a deafening explosion sounded a few blocks away.

  
Bruce, Thomas J., Batman, and the young woman all cursed at the same time.

  
Batman took off in the direction, "Just when I thought it was safe to call it a night." he threw out as he jumped from the ledge and let out the wings tucked under his arms. Enjoying the kick the jet packs in his feet gave him as they burst on.

  
Hearing a soft growling noise, he turned to see the woman, with her tiger in her arms, rushing over the rooftops not far behind him. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?!" he asked.

  
She didn't answer, instead choosing to concentrate on her destination.

  
Batman smirked staring appreciatively at her form as it raced across the tarmac roofs of the many Gotham apartment buildings.  She had no problem whatsoever keeping up with him. The cat suit fit her perfectly in all the right places.

  
"Terry, quit staring at her, and look at where you're going!" Bruce barked into his comm.-link.

  
"Yeah, yeah ok--Oomp!" Batman said as he flew into a billboard.

  
--#--

  
Thomas J. stared forward at the screen as Terry's body fell away from the billboard. After a few seconds of disbelief, a few snickers formed in his throat, until he could no longer hold them in. He began to cry as he guffawed unashamedly on the floor, letting the laughter roll out of him like water. He... hit the..." he said unable to finish.

  
--#--

  
Batman groaned opening his eyes, the young woman stood above him, turning away to hide her smile.  
"Owww!" he groaned.

  
She raised her eyebrows, and pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh.

  
Batman sat up, placing his arms over his knees.

  
Finally, she managed to squish them down long enough to make a comment, "Err, while you were slumbering, I took care of the situation, calling both the fire department, and the police." She said pointing over her shoulder at two goons who hung unconscious from a streetlight.

  
"I guess you've more than proven yourself." Batman said, coughing, and rubbing his throbbing head.

  
"Well, I guess this means _you'll_ be buying Krest toothpaste hmmm?"

  
"What?" he asked still disorientated.

  
She pointed over her shoulder at the sign he'd crashed into, an advertisement for the toothpaste she'd spoke of."

  
Batman sighed as he heard Thomas J. go into another fit of laughter; he knew he wouldn't be living this down anytime soon. 

_***_

Melanie opened her eyes, squinting in the darkness of her bedroom. She turned over, finding herself in a tangle of sheets. Cursing to herself, she kicked her way out of the entrapment, and crept to the mirror. 

Without turning on the lights, she examined her bruised eye. It wasn't swollen anymore, but it was still an odd chocolate pudding color. 

Frowning deeply, she turned away and began to get dressed, periodically recalling the day's activities: She'd arrived home from Max's around five, at which her father had proceeded to knock her unconscious. She then remembered being shaken awake by her equally bruised mother, who'd helped her to bed. Harley had then proceeded to stroke her daughter's hair until she fell back asleep.

  
Melanie looked in the mirror, a t-shirt, a gray hooded _Triple 5 Soul™ sweatshirt, and a pair of jeans she'd found under the bed. _"Yeah, you'd fit right in at Teen Vogue™."_ she remarked, as she began to bite her fingernails. _

  
Turning away, she used her left hand to fish around for a pair of socks. Finally becoming fed up, she threw on a yellow striped one, and a red one she'd found next to her nightstand. Reaching into her dresser drawer, she pulled out a few creds and a folded piece of paper, hiding the rest of her money under a few old shirts. Going to her window, she lifted it slowly, weary of any creaking the old frame might do. Reaching out, she tested the weather, finding it to be comfortably cool. Throwing her leg over, she hoisted herself over the sill, and placed the folded piece of paper between the closed window so as not to lock herself out. Creeping along the fire escape, she slowly climbed down ladder after ladder until she reached the sidewalk, finding comfort in once again being outside her father's reach.

  
Walking down the street, she began to smell the distinct scent of shrimp. She rubbed her stomach, noticing for the first time that her tummy was growling quite painfully. Looking across the street she saw the source of the smell, a _Miley__ and Miley Shrimp Shack™. Given she lived in Gotham, she was grateful for the abundance of twenty-four hour establishments all over the city. Running across the mildly busy street, she ducked inside and ordered chicken tenders and fries. Turning around to find a table, she noticed the ancient _Mrs. Pac-Man™_ upright in the corner. Next to it stood a converter machine, which would easily exchange her creds for the quarters that funded the video game. Deciding that a fast game was in order, she made quick work of gaining quarters and set to work on the first level._

  
***

  
Selina took a deep breath, and cut the engine. Stepping out of her car, she brought her sunglasses down slightly to get a better look at Wayne Manor. 

It wasn't quite as neat as she remembered. For one thing the term "crab-grass" was being nice. It looked like Bruce was cultivating a small rainforest on his property. 

Smirking to herself, she attempted to steady her nerves. This was the first time she'd been up here since the divorce, which had been twenty-seven years ago last month. Sighing, she told herself to chill, and walked to the intercom. Pressing the button for service, she waited for someone to acknowledge her presence. 

She took the time to reminisce, back to when she and Bruce were just part-time lovers at best, and Alfred ran the household with a strict intolerance for the in orderly. During their many on and off again relationships she'd made time to visit the house, often unannounced, to surprise Bruce. The lawn had seemed to sprawl into oblivion, miles of healthy green in all directions, bathed in sunlight. Every now and then, she'd managed to talk Bruce into taking naps in the soft blanket.

  
"Hello?" came a young voice jarring her back to reality.

  
"Yes," she said, "I'm hear to speak to Mr. Wayne, who is this?"

  
"This is his son, Thomas, may I ask who you are?"

  
Selina looked at the intercom in shock for a moment, not quite remembering that Bruce had remarried, and had had three more children. This must have been the youngest Thomas.

  
"Hellllloooo?" he asked, confused by the sudden silence.

  
"Yes, I'm still here, just tell him 'The cat in the cowl,' he'll know what that means."

  
"Hold on a moment please." Thomas said.

  
Selina drummed her fingers against her thigh, not quite remembering ever being this nervous back when they were younger.  Again she was shocked from her thoughts by interruption, this time it was the sliding of the manor gates. Selina took her time walking up the path, smiling to herself as she noticed particular spots where she and Bruce had shared intimate moments. By the time she reached the giant oak doors, her smile was a large as a Cheshire. 

Raising the knocker, she waited a few moments until the door opened. She had expected to find Thomas waiting for her, but instead, she was greeted by Bruce. Although Bruce clearly looked like he had seen better days, there was a glint in his eyes that had been missing for what she knew to be a very long time.  "Selina." he greeted kindly, stepping aside to let her pass.

  
"Bruce," she greeted in turn, stopping just inside the foyer, "You're up rather early aren't you, being a night owl and everything."

  
Bruce smiled, rather pleasantly for the moment, and nodded. "Thomas wanted to watch _Blue's Clues_."

  
Selina cocked her eyebrow, "He sounded much older than that..."

  
"He is, I assure you, he just hasn't let go of his love for cartoons and the like yet." Bruce said, taking her coat, which he hung up for her.

  
Selina nodded in thanks, and waited for him to lead her to the family room.

  
Sitting across from each other, they both sat in comfortable silence, not in any rush to say anything just yet. Finally their eyes met and Selina began:  "I had a bit of a encounter last night."

  
"Oh, the close kind, or was it far?"

  
Selina smirked, Bruce had always been a bit on the sarcastic side with her, "Anyway, a woman came to see me, she looked rather young, dressed in all black, and I thought you might know a little something, since you know... you keep up with that kind of thing."

  
Bruce smiled; the second time since she'd arrived. "Well, as you know Selina, a lot of people in this city wear black."

  
Selina frowned slightly, "I've never known you to be an ass Bruce, don't start now."

  
Bruce leaned back, folding his hands over his upright cane, "Alright Selina what happened."

  
"Well, as to be expected, I thought she was there to steal from me, so I defended myself..."

  
"And?"

  
"It was amazing, she was soooo... Like you, she even pulled nearly the same moves. She locked my arms behind me; I've never met anyone besides you who could do that." Selina said in awe, noticing slightly how easy it was to say all this, she'd been scared of nothing.

  
"Did she have a pair of goggles and a tiger cub?" Bruce asked tilting his head and narrowing his eyes.

  
"Yes, see I knew you knew!"

  
"I don't know anything, before Terrence could get her to take off her goggles; we had a bit of interference."

  
"Terrence?" Selina asked puzzled.

  
"My gopher, the new 'Batman'."

  
"Well, I never thought I'd ever hear you readily referring to someone else as the Batman."

  
"My subconscious seems to agree with you, but he's earned it, he's hardheaded, but he's earned it." Bruce said smiling for the third time; this had to be a record!

  
"So what about the girl, what did she do?"

  
"The right thing it seems, while Terry was unconscious on the roof, she dismantled a bank robbery all on her own."

  
Selina's eyebrows raised, "Thinking of recruiting her?" she asked with a smile.

  
"That's not my worry." Bruce said, all of a sudden becoming serious again. 

  
Selina wasn't at all shaken, this was how she was used to him, and felt the most comfortable around him. "What, there's something else?"

  
Bruce raised his eyes to hers, the flame that was his presence burning as brightly as she'd ever seen it. "Did she speak to you about her grandfather?"

  
"Yes, she said my presence is requested, apparently he's on his deathbed or something."

  
Bruce reached out and took Selina's hand, "There was something else, something she didn't tell you."

  
Selina frowned, suddenly uncomfortable again. "What? What did she say?"

  
"Did you ask her who her grandfather was?"

  
"Yes, she wouldn't tell me, or maybe I didn't ask, I backtracked when she mentioned the Batman."

  
"His name is Ra's Al Ghul." Bruce said, never taking his eyes or hand from hers.

  
Selina felt her insides freeze, it was Christmas 2008 that she'd finally found what it was in her that could hate someone. That name had been like a poison to her, toxic to her mind and spirit. Ra's had taken and disappeared with their daughter Aidia the night before. They had never been able to find her. The lack of balance in their lives, yet another emotional shift, had eaten through their hearts, and eventually their marriage. They'd begun to take the ever mounting pressure and stress out on each other. Eventually deciding that their relationship was not something they wanted Aidia to return to should she be found, they'd divorced away from the media, bidding each other adieu.

  
Ra's Al Ghul was the man responsible for the ruination of the most stable and beautiful thing either had encountered since their early childhoods. There was a new meaning in the word hate when his name was mentioned.

  
Selina pulled her hand from Bruce's and cradled her face in her palms, willing herself not to sob.

  
That man had pulled tears from the both of them, single-handedly destroying Bruce's career as the Batman, and their life as a whole. They both had eventually learned to live with the increasingly bigger holes being cut into their sanity. But for what he'd done to her, Selina had wanted more than to put her foot up his ass, she'd wanted to kill him. A part of her still did. Bruce rose from his seat, and strolled into the study, taking his usual stance in front of the window. He wringed his hands, mind jumping from one thought to the other: 

  
_Judging from her build, she's anywhere from twenty-three, to twenty-eight years, but I can't determine her height until I see her myself. Aidia will be twenty-eight on her next birthday. Damn, this really could be her..._

  
A hand on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts.  Bruce turned to find Selina's shorter frame behind him, pleasantly surprised at how her touch still calmed him. He turned slightly as she resumed a place next to him, her gaze before her out to the water.

  
"I keep thinking back to last night," she said sadly, "She's so much like you and she doesn't even know it."

  
"We don't know if it's really her Selina, we cannot get our hopes too high."

  
"You weren't there Bruce, last night, I didn't take the time to really listen, and I've been replaying her words, the way she moved over an over. How can it not be?"

  
"How can it not be _who_?"

  
Bruce and Selina turned to find Thomas standing in the threshold. His hands moved nervously against his pants legs on either side, Bruce took this to mean he was holding back his urgency.  Bruce sighed and turned to his youngest, Selina doing the same, soaking in the features of the young raven haired man. Right down to the laugh lines in the corners of his mouth.

  
"You remember long ago, when you were about six, and you wandered into the room you were forbidden to visit don't you?" Bruce asked.

  
Thomas nodded.

  
"And I told you that that room was very dear to me, do you remember why?"

  
Thomas bowed his head, "That was my sister's room." he answered quietly.

  
Selina bit her lip, and turned back to the window.

  
"You must be Selina then, her mother." Thomas said, looking to Selina's back.

  
Selina begrudgedly turned back around, "Yes." she answered.

  
"I'm sorry I didn't properly introduce myself at the door, I was eating, but that is still a poor excuse..."

  
"No, no, it's alright."

  
Thomas pursed his lips and extended his hand tenatively, surprising Selina with his sudden shyness, he had sounded quite open on the intercom. "Thomas Wayne Jr."

  
"Selina Kyle." Selina said stepping forward and shaking his hand.

  
Thomas turned to his father, "Do you think you've finally found her?"

  
Bruce huffed slightly, and aimed his eyes at the floor, "Last night, when I had that coughing fit, you asked me what was wrong. That woman Terry was talking to, she said her grandfather's name was Ra's Al Ghul, does that mean anything special to you?"

  
Thomas wrinkled his brow, "Is he the man that kidnapped Aidia?"

  
Bruce and Selina both shook their heads at the same time.

  
Thomas balled his fist and averted his glance to the window. "So why don't we go get her, bring her back here, and tell her the real deal?"

  
"Because it's not that simple, first, we don't even know if it's her or not, and second, she obviously doesn't remember us." Bruce noted Selina flinching at the comment. "And she was taken from us when she was two, it's most likely that because she was so young, Ra's convinced her that he was her grandfather, Talia her mother, that Bruce Wayne didn't exist, and that she was rightfully his."

  
"You've spent a lot of time thinking about this, haven't you?" Thomas asked.

  
"When all you can do is sit there thinking about what you could have done, and how you're not there, you find a lot of different ideas become plausible."

  
Thomas nodded, feeling that Bruce wasn't just referring to Aidia anymore, but himself and his brothers as well.

  
Thomas opened his mouth to speak, turning to Selina to find her gone. Wide-eyed, he turned looking frantically around the room to where she could have gone.

  
Bruce grabbed his shoulder, and told him to calm down, then led him out of the study, up the double-staircase, and down the left hallway. They stopped at a door that was cracked; Bruce slowly nudged it open with his cane.  Selina stood in the middle of the large bedroom, tears sliding down her fair skinned cheeks. Her eyes scanned the many reminders of her daughter, the hundreds of drawings taped to the bulletin board showcasing everything from Mama and Daddy, to Elmo from Sesame Street. Her box of Crayola's still sat on the drawing table, a few spilling out, waiting for an owner who had yet to return. The wind-up carnival horse sculptures that sat on the shelves next to her collection of china figurines. The giant doll house that sat atop another table in the middle of the room. Her twin-sized canopy bed.  It was all too much and yet so little.

Bruce and Thomas each sat down on a side of the bed, waiting in silence.

  
Selina brought her head down and bit her lip, more tears streaming down, and dripping off her angular chin. She balled her fists and shuddered.  Bruce's face softened as he beheld her trembling figure, anxious to go to her. He would have if Thomas hadn't been there.

  
Thomas, sensing the tension, stood and left.

  
Bruce mouthed 'thank you' to the door and rose from the bedside. Taking her into his arms, pleased that she did not object, he held her, transferring all his long neglected feelings for her into their embrace.

  
Although he and Selina had divorced, their reasons weren't because they couldn't stand the sight of each other, but more so because they realized that for the meantime their marriage was becoming an obstacle. They were becoming too insecure with each other, worried sick that they might leave one day only to return to find the other gone too. They were fighting constantly, driving each other mad with complaint. Bruce had always found comfort in their decision by assuring himself that Selina was no longer a target, and that Ra's could not use her to get to him. Even in passing, they never found it hard to be civil to each other, the direct opposite of most of the other high-society divorcees at the time.

  
Selina wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed into his chest. Bruce ran his hand down her shoulder and made circles on her back, burying his face in her neck, something he had always loved to do. As they rocked back in forth, he whispered encouragement into the tender spot between her ear and the slope of her chin. "Don't worry, we'll find a way through this."

  
Just as he finished the statement, he realized something. It was what had been missing from his second marriage. It had always amazed him at how poor that relationship was, until it was absolutely no surprise that they were contacting their lawyers and drawing up custody forms. There was no element of intimacy, sure there was sex, and there was even the sharing of children, but no intimacy. No connection. No feeling of something being shared only between the two of them. They were both no excuses, hard-headed, and stubborn. They bounced off each other like rubber bands, usually not agreeing on anything. Selina and he on the other hand, had complimented each other well. It was almost as if they could be made available in a box set. They were like peanut butter and chocolate, green eggs and ham, three-year olds and tricycles. Perfectly completing the other. A cypher if you will. A never ending three-hundred and sixty degree wheel of love. For the first time in twenty-four years, Bruce felt genuinely sorry that they'd split up.

  
Selina lay her head on Bruce's chest, listening to his heartbeat. Here was the man who could make the skies erupt in black. A horrific frenzy of wings and claws, and screaming things that called the night their home. No matter how dark life became for him, he'd always possessed a heart of light, leading him through his troubles. There was nothing like a man completely sure of his actions, and every action of his ensured some kind of good outcome. She shifted slightly, to lean against him a bit more, enjoying the gentle slope of his digits as they massaged her. The sequential sentence or two uttered in his beautiful voice catching her ears, and sliding slowly down her ear canals, soaking them with sound.  
Finally she looked up at him, "Bruce, what if... What if it isn't her, what if Talia finally made another child, and he just... Ra's just killed..."

  
"Shhhh." Bruce said, quieting her immediately. "Believe me, Ra's would settle for nothing less than our child. No one else's will come before our own."

  
Selina nodded, as Bruce used his thumb to wipe away her tears. They both offered weak smiles to each other, "Don't worry, I'll get to the bottom of this before it becomes too much for either of us."

  
**October 2006**

  
Ra's Al Ghul paced impatiently in front of the double doors leading to his daughter's quarters, listening as she cried out in labor. She'd been having contractions since three that morning, and now it was after midnight. It wasn't long before he'd have a grandchild on his hands.

  
Not far away stood another figure, much calmer, although their expressions still portrayed concern. This earth knew him as Clark, this universe knew him as Superman, and a select few knew him as Kal-El, the son of Krypton. He was dressed in a newer form of his old uniform, a black and red suit that had done away with the cape completely. Thick lead gloves and boots finished off the outfit.

  
Ra's glanced at him periodically, biding his time between worrying for his possible future heir and the strange man himself.   After Batman had rejected her in true finality by marrying the Catwoman, Talia had turned her sights to the other champion of earth, Superman. He'd been embroiled in proving himself to the world again, after some undisclosed event during which he'd attacked the earth's various military groups. Ra's had become intrigued by the man's actions as he watched the melee unfold on television, struck by how much the man wanted to make amends. Unfortunately, he was never again accepted near any degree of his former popularity, and had become bitter because of it. When Ra's had offered him the chance to save the earth from humanity's sins, he'd jumped at the opportunity. He and Talia had been married, and they'd promptly conceived a child.

  
That very child was now being born in the next room.

  
Finally a shrill cry cut through the air, and both men turned to each other.  Clark's face although reserved, was clearly overjoyed at the sound of his baby's voice.

  
The door burst open, and two nurses emerged from the room, with smiles and deep blushes in their plump cheeks.

  
"What's the sex?" Ra's asked simply.

  
Clark frowned, slightly disturbed that whether Ra's was pleased with the birth or not depended on if the baby was a boy. 

  
"It's a boy." The nurse on the left said, stepping aside to let the two men pass.

  
Inside the bedroom, Talia lay in her bed, sheets soaked with birth, holding her son in her arms. Clark stepped tenatively to the bed, eyes glazed with happiness.  "Your heir father, your son my love." she said referring to both men.

  
"What will his name be?" Ra's asked smiling proudly.

  
"We've decided on Jean-Xavier." Clark said, finally speaking.

  
"Jean-Xavier Head it is then!" Ra's said, proclaiming the child's name to everyone within earshot. "Tonight we rest, tomorrow we celebrate!"


	4. Black and Blue

PG-13 for very mild, non explicit, non descriptive sex  
  
  
Disclaimer: No offense about the Catholic school girls remark. And everybody basically belongs to DC/WB/Time Warner except Jean-Xavier, Aidia, the Wayne Brothers, and the young woman. And Tigger belongs to Disney. If anyone has any complaints as to why Superman can breathe in space, well too bad, it's an elseworlds. Also Superman's thoughts on The Creator aren't meant to offend either. All other clothing mentioned belongs to various name brand companies that are specified throughout story.  
  
*That afternoon*  
  
Terry unlocked the door of the apartment he shared with his little brother Matt and his mother Mary. Falling back over the arm of the couch he undid his suit jacket and threw his tie across the room. _Why_ did his mother insist on waking him at seven that morning for church?! Then she'd persisted to go shopping at the mall for a new outfit for Matt, as all his clothing was "practically in threads". She was too much of an exaggerator in his opinion. So what if one of his shirts had a tear in it, he was eight, what did it matter? He'd only just now convinced her that he should get home, so he could get to work early and all.  
  
Sighing, Terry rose from the couch and dragged himself to his bedroom, and entered without turning on the lights. Stripping quickly, he found himself unbelievably thankful that he'd invested in such heavy blinds. They blocked out the daylight so efficiently.  
  
Crawling under the covers, he buried his head under his pillow and waited for comforting sleep. "Terry?" a voice asked somewhere behind him.  
  
Terry jumped, bumping his head on the shelf above him, causing his alarm clock, and various little space-takers to fall on him. Turning over, he groped in the darkness, his hand catching what distinctly felt like a leg. "Who are you?!" he asked falling out of the bed and crawling backward. Trying desperately to get up, he somehow half-crawled, half-stumbled to the light switch.  
  
"It's me Melanie." the voice replied just as he turned the lights on. "Nice boxers." she said referring to the Tigger boxers he wore.  
  
Terry blinked painfully in the sudden brightness, and stared at the young girl before him. She was sitting in the corner of his bed, with her arms wrapped around her knees, the remainders of a bruise slowly melting away from her face. "Max told me where you lived so I could give you back your jacket." she said, the jacket lay next to her.  
  
"What happened to you?" he asked, coming forward and reaching for the colored mark around her eye.  
  
Melanie ducked under his arm, and sat back on the wall. "Got into a fight with some Catholic school chicks that's all. You know those girls are real b****es sometimes."  
  
Terry nodded with a small smile, not really believing her but not letting it show either. Quickly he sat down, and covered himself with his blanket.  
  
"So what's been going on?" she asked with a bright smile, "You left so early yesterday, missed all the fun."  
  
"I had to work." Terry said with a shrug.  
  
"On a Saturday?" she asked cocking her eyebrow.  
  
"Yeah, the guy's a total grouch, but he beats hanging out at home all day making nothing you know?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess. So who do you work for?"  
  
"Bruce Wayne." Terry said shrugging again.  
  
"Really?! The billionaire? Geez, what I wouldn't give to be in your shoes."  
  
"On the contrary, you're in a much better position in my opinion."  
  
"Contrary?" she said biting her lip in a smile. "My aren't we proper."  
  
"That's what I get for hanging out with him all day." Terry said leaning back.  
  
"What's he like? Any kids, you know that whole thing? I heard he was a real slut back in the day."  
  
Terry laughed heartily, "Well I wouldn't say slut exactly, but he had his far share of chicks running around for him. He once described it as 'chickens with their heads cut off' at how excited they were when he was around."  
  
Melanie laughed, "So he's not married your saying."  
  
"Actually, he's divorced, that much I read. He used to be married to Selina Kyle, and then to Helena Bertinelli. I don't know much about those though. He has sons, three, I met the youngest yesterday."  
  
"What's he like?"  
  
"Goofy. A complete three-sixty from his dad. But they get along well. Bruce is a lot more relaxed when he's around."  
  
"Ohhhhh, any chance of my meeting him?"  
  
"For what?" Terry asked raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Ooooh we're not jealous are we?" she asked tapping his mouth with her forefinger.  
  
Terry relaxed, then sighed. "I don't know." he answered his smile returning.  
  
Melanie leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, "I don't think you'll have to worry about him stealing me away, he can't be half as sweet as you."  
  
Terry blushed and bowed his head. Melanie took his chin into her hand and turned his face. Gently she pressed her lips to his, relaxing inch by inch into the kiss.  
  
Terry was obviously nervous, his entire body was rigid. Melanie pulled away and pushed him down onto the covers. "Relax." she said as she straddled him.  
  
Terry stared up at her, his face blank, mind racing. Was she trying to do what he thought she was? What if she could tell that he'd never done anything like this before?  
  
He watched as she pulled her shirt over her head, and threw it to the floor. Yeah, she was, she definitely was going to try to have sex with him.  
  
Terry felt his mind go numb, as she took his hands and placed them on her waist. Slowly his fingers trailed over her waist band, and then to her belt buckle. He was surprised to find she wore crisp white boxers over her briefs.  
  
She quickly climbed off of him and went to his door. Locking it, she flicked off the light and rejoined him.  
  
"You've never done this before have you?" she asked, not to be mean, but merely to find out his status.  
  
"No, no I haven't." Terry said with a nervous laugh.  
  
"Do you have any condoms?"  
  
"Actually, yeah, my dad used to drag me to the store every now and then and make me buy them. He wanted to make sure I was being safe when the time came."  
  
He felt her smile without being able to see her face, as he reached into the nightstand drawer.  
  
She waited patiently as he unwrapped, and took a few minutes to get it on. She took the time to finish undressing, and then crawled under the covers with him.  
  
She waited again as he pulled his underwear all the way off, then she slowly guided him into her.  
  
Then for the next few hours she introduced him to the wonderfully frowned upon world of teenage sex.

**

**May 2013**  
  
Jean-Xavier sat on in a chair on the balcony overlooking the vast ice desert his grandfather's complex sat on. He had spent the last hour pouting and sighing and basically anything to symbolize how bored and lonely he was. There was nothing a seven-year-old could do for fun around the place. Everything was for the grown-ups, and Aidia wasn't much company. She was a girl, and girls were gross and stupid and just about anything that could be considered icky.  
  
"What'cha doing?" asked a calm smooth voice behind him.  
  
"Father!" Jean-Xavier exclaimed, standing immediately, then bowing his head.  
  
"What's the matter, you look sad young friend." Clark said with a tired smile.  
  
Jean-Xavier raised his head, meeting his father's eyes, "You are always away, I'm bored."  
  
Clark scooped the young boy up into his arms and set him down on his right shoulder. "Why don't we go for a ride huh?"  
  
"Where?" Jean-Xavier asked sounding as if he didn't much care.  
  
"Hold on tight chum." Clark said as he took flight.  
  
Jean-Xavier looked worriedly about himself as they climbed higher and higher. Although he knew his father would never harm him, he still felt scared.   
  
Despite his fear, he still laughed as the freezing altitude air tickled his exposed flesh.  
  
Soon the two found themselves floating high above the earth, the great sphere riding the belt of gravity the sun possessed. Jean-Xavier watched enthusiastically as massive swirls of clouds enveloped the atmosphere, and the blue waters darkened and lightened throughout their perspective oceans.   
  
"I brought you up here when you were a baby Jean." Clark said suddenly, his voice filling the vast infinite gap of space.   
  
Jean smiled, his eyes shining as brightly as any of the stars that surrounded them in all directions for infinitesimal distances.  
  
"I wanted you to know that the only thing greater than yourself is universe, and God."  
  
"Father, I thought God was in the clouds, but we're up here, where is he?"  
  
Clark shrugged, "I can't really say, all I know is someone put this great wonder up here don't you think?"  
  
Jean nodded, "Grandfather says that God put the three of us on earth to cleanse it of humanity's ignorance. Is that true?"  
  
"I'd rather say we're saving humanity from themselves. But of course, your grandfather and I don't always see eye to eye on that subject." Clark said casting his gaze onto the earth below. "But I don't want you worrying about that. Just enjoy this. This is our special place, just the two of us okay. No one else comes up here. Is that agreed chum?"  
  
"Yes sir." Jean said with a smile.

**Present Day**

Jean-Xavier quickly ran his eyes over his surroundings, large fluffy bed, thick carpet floor, mahogany this, gold that... Yes, this was the kind of room his dear sister loved to spend the night in. He stood barrel-chested, bearing the sheild of his father embroidered into the Kevlar fabric of his suit. He smiled warmly as he beheld her slim figure, legs spread, and arms over and under her pillow, sheets twisted almost violently around her torso. And of course Ali lay on his back slumbering right next to her. She never went anywhere without the little puff-ball.  
  
The one thing she persisted to do every night, whether she was expecting someone or not, the thing that bothered him the most about her personality: was that she always slept nude. Thank God for comforters, he only knows what a shock people might come across without them.  
  
Smirking, he turned away from her and took a deep breath. Letting out in a rather large yell, he said, "Top of the afternoon to you sister!"  
  
He smiled as he listened to her react, he could almost feel the jolt in her bones as she tumbled out of sleep. He quietly sidestepped a pillow, then turned to see her bundled nicely in her bed linen.  
  
"What is the matter with you brother, I know you have more sense than that!" she said in French, watching as Jean doubled over laughing to himself.   
  
Luckily for her, and the rest of the hotel, he had a rather soft, beautiful laugh. But if a joke got too funny, he let his vocal cords go, quite thunderously. His father Clark often joked that he could shatter a mountain with the force of his laugh.  
  
She huffed and climbed out of the bed, gathering the sheets behind her, and taking them with her into the bathroom along with her already assembled outfit.  
  
Jean walked to the bathroom door, and listened to the shower water run, imagining the condensation as it stuck slick to the mirror, just ready for childish fingers.   
  
"What time is it?" his sister called from the shower stall.  
  
"Oh I'd readily say about six or so. What'd you do? Stay up 'til ten this morning?" he didn't much care for using fully proper English when he was in the company of his sis'.  
  
"It is not your concern dear brother." she said through the door as she turned off the water.  
  
He waited outside the door for several more minutes, noticing out the corner of his eye that Ali still had awoke, and almost falling backward as the door suddenly opened behind him.  
  
"So," she said leaning against the doorframe, "did you fly here, or did you _fly_ here?"  
  
"Actually the former, it's hard to get a hotel when you look like this." he said taking the stretchable fabric between his forefinger and thumb.  
  
She smiled and kissed him on the cheek, "I missed you dear brother."  
  
"Missed you too." he said with a broad smile. "So, what're we doin' huh? I mean, why's Grandfather got us hunting around this mammoth proportioned city looking for three specks in the paint?"  
  
"I do not know, I thought you had a better idea than I." she said as she found a pair of sandal heels that matched her outfit.  
  
"Where're you going dressed like that?" he asked knitting his brow in surprise.  
  
"You and I never have any fun; I thought maybe we could go out and see what American clubs are like. The last one we went to was French, and that was three years ago. It will be fun, I promise."  
  
"If I remember correctly, and I think I do, I have business to attend to. Besides, you're too proper for clubs. They'll sniff you out like a drug dog to marijuana."  
  
"Where do you get those expressions from?" she asked as she pulled a waist-length Calvin Klein dirty-denim jacket out of her suitcase.  
  
Jean twisted his face, "Who did you speak with already?"  
  
"Selina Kyle and the Batman, although he is kind of… Silly is a good word, no?"  
  
"Silly? I thought the _almighty_ Batman was supposed to be the greatest thing since palm pilots? _There shall be no other gods before Batman_ is supposed to be the only man other than my father to be at Grandfather's side?" Jean spat bitterly, "Grandfather only went on about him to us every single second of the f**king day."  
  
She stared at him, eyes cut, her face reddened with anger, "That _boy_ is not my father! He only knocked himself unconscious on a bloody poster last night!"  
  
Jean turned away towards the window, "So if he's not the great bloody Batman, who is he?"  
  
"He's some kind of replacement or something, I don't know. I think he might be working for him."  
  
"But you said in the e-mail this morning that he was working for a guy named Bruce, who may or may not be Bruce Wayne."  
  
"I _knowwwww_. You are really starting to get on my nerves. I have done my part, all I have to wait is for their consent, and I'm done. _You_ on the other hand have to speak with Wayne. Today."  
  
Jean turned and nodded his goodbye, then left out of the large bay window his sister had used the night before.

**

Jean looked down at his body, frowning at his outfit. Sure he was the more outgoing of the two, but between his sister and himself, she was a _much_ better dresser. He'd picked out a white baseball tee with a black collar, black sleeve ends, and the team name: "Zero's" splayed across the chest. Over that he wore a black button down cowboy shirt with black and gray embroidered flowers on a white background, separated by cord thread barriers from the solid black torso. His cuffs were unbuttoned just like his sister preferred to do. Below that, he wore black Dickies pants, and converse all stars, black as well. Finishing the outfit was a bucket hat, predictably black also.  
  
Pressing the button to the intercom, he began to feel even more self-conscious. Even though he knew it was just some old man that for some reason his grandfather had demanded be at his side in his final hour, he also knew that in his prime Bruce Wayne had been _the_ man in Gotham. The guy probably had every shirt made by Versace tailor made for him and all that crap. Jean-Xavier sighed as a voice came over the intercom:  
  
"Party central?" said a young voice.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Sorry." *ahem* "Wayne Manor?"  
  
"This is Jean-Xavier Head-Kent, I was asked to speak to your father, by my grandfather… May I come in?"  
  
"Hold on, I'll ask the DJ."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'll ask my dad!" the voice said with a laugh.  
  
Jean tapped his foot against the clay earth impatiently, waiting for the voice to come back."  
  
His answer came in the form of sliding gates, "Well, here goes old boy." Jean said trying to calm himself down. "It's all riding on you."

Jean walked timidly through the double door entrance to Wayne Manor, finding himself become even more nervous. Although the manor was dwarfed considerably by his grandfather's complex, it was soaked in an aura of suffering and despair. Jean removed his hat and nodded at the young man who had answered the door. "Hello, I'm sorry I didn't catch your name." he said, his deep voice trembling slightly.  
  
"That's because I didn't throw it." the young man returned, his voice cold and unwelcoming.  
  
Jean shivered; he sounded no where near like he had on the intercom. "I'm sorry; did I do something to upset you?"  
  
The young man just frowned at him and walked away, Jean noticed he was clenching his fists. The manner in which he did so suggested it was a reflex to anger. "Where am I supposed to go?" he asked.  
  
"The dining room, there are two people in there who would like very much to have a word with you." the man said as he disappeared down a hallway.  
  
Jean scratched the top of his head, worry etching across his face, he'd known this was going to be a bad idea. What did they want to speak with him about, he didn't know anything. And besides, the guy hadn't even told him where the dining room was.  
  
After several minutes of searching, he found a large room, it's curtains drawn, bathed in the shadows. From what he could make out in the dense darkness, there was a huge mahogany banquet table that took up a good amount of the room. Hundreds of framed portraits and photographs lined the wall on one side, and the wall parallel to that held four bay windows. Another wall held a large fireplace. At the far end of the table sat two figures, opposite to each other, a larger figure he guessed was Wayne, and a smaller, womanly figure. The man's left hand was resting on the table; the woman's right lay inside. Their faces were hidden in the lack of light.  
  
Jean swallowed, and shifted uncomfortably, the intensity of the moment doing nothing to calm him.  
  
"Why are you here?" asked a cold, harsh voice, obviously Wayne's.  
  
Jean jumped, shaken by the disdain he felt Wayne automatically held for him. "I was asked by my grandfa—"  
  
"I know that!" Wayne snapped, "What business does your grandfather have with me, what exactly does Ra's Al Ghul want, hasn't he taken enough?!"  
  
"Uh, I-I don't understand, what do you mean 'hasn't he taken enough?' I don't know what you speak of." Jean said, becoming violently afraid that he might vomit.  
  
The figure stood in the darkness, making his way slowly across the room. Jean stepped back, afraid that Wayne might come and strike him. Instead the older man went to the fireplace, he pulled a box of matches from the mantel and lit one. Jean felt himself shiver again at the shadows cast across the old man's face, defining every wrinkle and frown line. Wayne threw the match down onto the wood, watching unaffectedly as it burst into flame. He replaced the matches, and leaned against his cane, silent for the moment.  
  
Jean began to breath fast, wondering somewhere in the back of his mind when the woman was going to speak, and what the old man had to say. It never occurred to him that he had never said his grandfather's name.  
  
"Sit." Wayne demanded, never turning from the fire. Jean gasped in fear at the sudden jarring, but quickly complied, eager to relieve himself of his anxiety.  
  
"Your grandfather, Ra's Al Ghul, he took something from me, something from us," he said gesturing to the woman, "That can never be replaced. Our daughter Aidia Ava Wayne. He stole her from us. From this house!"  
  
Jean's mouth fell agape; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "There must be some kind of mis— my grandfather would never…"   
  
"SILENCE! You will NEVER interrupt me, especially to defend that man!" Bruce roared, turning and pointing directly at Jean's heart to illustrate his anger. "That man took away everything that made me who I am, my family, my life. All of it! Gone! I missed being able to raise my little girl. My child! That, I will NEVER forgive." he growled.  
  
Jean sat frozen in horror, doubt and all kinds of emotions rushing through his brain. He'd known Aidia had mysteriously appeared at the complex when he was two. She was but a month younger than him, and horribly shy. They told him she was his half-sister, and at his young age, he didn't ask any questions, soon forgetting that she hadn't been there all along. His father made no moves to treat her as a daughter, but never harshly either. It was as if everybody knew something he didn't. It all made sense now, but for some reason his mind wouldn't acknowledge it as truth. "You're lying." he stated simply.  
  
Bruce's face went stone still, and expressionless. He stood straight, and bore his eyes into the man before him. "I beg your pardon?" his tone unidentifiable.  
  
"Bruce..." the woman said, finally speaking, "He doesn't know what your talking about, this is all coming as a shock to him."  
  
Bruce ignored her, and walked up to Jean's chair. Leaning down to him, "_I beg your pardon_?" he insisted, all color gone from his face.  
  
Jean heard himself talking, but didn't know where the words were coming from, "You're obviously mistaken, you must be speaking of another child, and besides, you can hardly prove it was _my_ grandfather who kidnapped her. What would he want with your kid?" Jean said, his mind screaming 'You idiot!'  
  
Bruce's hand grasped the shoulder of the chair harshly causing it to tilt back off the floor. "You come to my house and DARE call me a liar?! You sonofa*****..."  
  
Jean stayed sure, staring unblinkingly into the man's eyes, feeling himself becoming more and more aware of the truth.  
  
"Bruce!" the woman insisted appearing at his side. She took his arm and pulled him away.  
  
Jean watched as he calmed considerably, suggesting that she had an influence over him that few had. He was glad at that moment for his gift at reading behavior, he knew that the man was no longer angry enough to hurt him. Jean stood and took up his hat, which had fallen to the floor. Placing it on his head he turned to them, "You're just a crazy old fool you know that?!"  
  
Bruce stared back at him, expressionless once again, then turned back around to the woman. He said something Jean didn't bother to overhear, and went back to the table to sit.  
  
The woman gave him a fleeting look then went to the window, staring vacantly out over the waters of GothamBay.  
  
Jean felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Turning around, a hard fist collided with his nose. Being half-human, he of course fell to the floor. Jean heard the woman and Bruce gasp in surprise. Gritting his teeth, he reached up and wiped blood from his nose. He knew without looking up that it was the young man from before.  
  
The man jerked him to his feet by his cowboy shirt, and held him a few inches away from his face. "Don't you EVER speak to my father that way again!" he said, his voice near a whisper.  
  
Jean didn't move, he could easily knock this guy through four walls easy, but he knew he'd crossed a line, he'd do the same for his dad.  
  
"Tell your grandfather we want her back, NOW!" the guy said, his eyes tearing.  
  
Jean's face softened, the guy was hurting bad. "Look, I really don't know what you're talking about. I-I-I've gotta go..." he said, pulling away, and running past.  
  
Once reaching outside, he ripped the clothing off of his body, exposing the skintight suit. Taking to the air, he rushed faster and faster through the atmosphere, feeling the heated friction of atoms and neutrons, and the desperate freezing of the zero gravity air erupting on his skin. Curling into a ball, he fell through the last protective layer, and into the space around him. His tears slid from his eyes, floating around him. He was alone in this place, not sure of anything he'd ever been told.  
  
Not even sure if he was himself.


	5. Quatre

Terry walked through the front door of Wayne Manor with a blank face. Although he'd been unusually happy the whole way there, once he'd reached the gates, he become quite paranoid that Bruce would read, "I just had casual sex with a girl I hardly know!" all over his forehead.   
  
Tip-toeing through the foyer out to the great room he noticed Thomas J. standing in front of the window in the study. Terry stared at him, his stance all but said, "Don't mess with me today." Terry also noticed that from behind Thomas J. looked a lot like Bruce did when he was younger, except with bed head of course.  
  
Terry took a few cautious steps forward, nearly jumping out of his skin when Thomas addressed him.  
  
"What are you doing here Terry?" he said, his voice sounding oddly sad, instead of angry.  
  
"Uhhh… I work here, besides it's already eight. Where's the old man?"  
  
"Downstairs in the cave--" Thomas J. started, turning around to find Terry rushing to the clock.   
  
Terry grabbed the clock tails and was halfway down the stairs before Thomas could finish his sentence. Stopping at the bottom of the steps, he was caught completely off guard by the presence of a woman. Not knowing what to do, he stared at her with his mouth agape, half wondering who she was, and if he should be alarmed or not.  
  
"Terry," Bruce started from somewhere beside him, "This is Selina Kyle."  
  
"The Catwoman." Terry added floored by her intense beauty. 'How did Bruce let this one get away?' he asked himself.  
  
Selina smiled, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Terrence, Bruce has told me a lot about you."  
  
Terry's eyebrows raised suspiciously, "Really? He talks about me? What'd he say?!" he asked enthusiastically  
  
"Terry, Selina is here on business concerning the woman that was with you last night." Bruce interrupted before Selina could answer.  
  
Terry frowned, "You really had to mention that one didn't you?"  
  
"Terry," Bruce said ignoring his complaint, "*sigh* We, Selina and I, have reason to believe that she is our daughter."  
  
Terry coughed in surprise then began to piece things together, "Your daughter? That's why you wanted me to ask her to take off her goggles!"  
  
Bruce nodded.  
  
"I didn't know you two had a daughter... I didn't know you had any children at all." Terry said frowning.  
  
This time it was Selina's turn to sigh, "When she was kidnapped, we kept it out of the papers, records... Anything that could hurt our chances of finding her. Most people just believe we've kept her out of the limelight as a result of our divorce."  
  
"So her grandfather..." Terry started to ask.  
  
"…Isn't really her grandfather at all. My mother passed when I was a child, I never knew my father, but I know he's no longer alive. Bruce's as well." Selina stated sadly.  
  
"Does she know?" Terry asked as knots began to form in his stomach.  
  
"She was only two years old; I doubt very seriously she even remembers." Selina said her voice cracking with emotion.  
  
"So you two want me to find her and bring her here." Terry said as more of a statement than a question.  
  
"Yes." They both said in unison.  
  
Terry quickly excused himself and suited up. Returning to the room, "Don't worry, I promise I'll do whatever I can to help." he swore.  
  
"Thank you Terry." Selina said with a small smile.  
  
As soon as he left Selina turned to Bruce, "You know that look don't you?" she asked with a sexy smile, "The one plastered all over his face?"  
  
Bruce smiled in return, "Yes I do, I recall I wore it myself back when I was seventeen."  
  
Selina's smile widened at the recognition, "You do think they used protection don't you?"  
  
Bruce chuckled lightly, "I don't think he's dumb enough not to."  
  
Bruce then took Selina's hand in his and they went back upstairs to wait until Terry's return, hopefully with their daughter in tow.

**

Batmen sat hunched over on a park bench, chin in hand, feeling very sorry for Bruce and Selina at the moment. He'd accosted two would be rapists, five muggers, and three jokerz looking to pull a prank. No girl in tight black cat suit.  
  
He bit his lip, and drummed his fingers against his hairline. _Come on Terry, think! Bruce'd probably found her by now, except... that he didn't..._  
  
Then Terry's eyes brightened behind the opaque lenses. She's young, she could be at Club Four, that new club downtown. And who better to be at a club than a seventeen year old guy?  
  
Batman pressed the call button on his utility belt, and jumped into the arriving batmobile.   
  
Speeding through the air at a hundred and twenty miles per hour, he made it back to the cave in record time.  
  
Hopping out, Batman looked around, saddened to find the cave empty. Sighing sadly, he decided to rest for a second in the computer chair, just to get his composure together. He could be compared to a satellite, he felt so buzzed on adrenaline.  
  
Turning the chair around, he nearly screamed, upon finding Thomas J. asleep in the chair. Batman gasped and stepped back. Okay, now he was on the moon. He grabbed Thomas's shoulder and gave it a shake, "Hey Tommy, come on wake up."  
  
_Geez__,_ he thought, _this guy sleeps like a rock!_ Batman shook Thomas harder, smiling as he woke up.  
  
"Wwwwwhat?!" A very irritated Thomas asked, grabbing Batman's shoulders and shaking them in a harsh manner.  
  
"Man, you wake up horrible..." Batman said pulling down the cowl to expose his face. "Anyway, where's Bruce and Selina, I have an idea."  
  
Thomas rubbed his head and leaned back in the chair, "Their upstairs, they sent me down here to wait for you. I think they needed some alone time."  
  
"And you're okay with that? Ewww…" Terry said making a face.  
  
"They love each other, you can tell when they look at each other, besides how is that to talk when you just got some yourself?" Thomas said with a cocky smile.  
  
Terry froze, and then decided to ignore the last bit for now. "Aren't you Helena's son?"  
  
"I thought you didn't know who she was?" Thomas said turning back to the computer.  
  
"I didn't know she was a superhero, anyway you're getting off subject."  
  
Thomas sighed, "My parents loved each other, but not like that, they never could have ever worked out. I was glad when they got a divorce so that they could stop torturing each other. Pop and Selina belong together, and I don't have a problem with that, besides there's this thing with my sister, and they need each other. I can't put it any other way."  
  
Terry raised his eyebrows unable to find anything to say.  
  
"So what's this plan you have, I'm in charge 'til the big man on campus comes back."  
  
"I was thinking I could go to Club Four downtown and see if she's there. It's brand new, and she's young, she's bound to show up."  
  
"I'm going with you." Thomas said standing.  
  
"Uhhhh, are you sure, I mean, trouble follows me, and if I get into a fight, I don't want to have to put up the dukes for you."  
  
"Are you kidding? _Who's_ my dad, you think he let me outside without teaching me how to defend myself? The only dukes going up for me are 'this' and 'that'." he said raising his fist animatedly and sticking out his lower lip.  
  
"I warned you." Terry said shaking his head.  
  
"Wait a minute, you'd actually admit to being a trouble maker?"  
  
"I'm honest." Terry said, walking towards the changing room, while Thomas went back upstairs to change his own clothes.  
  
**  
  
Melanie lay, feet on one pillow at the top of her bed, head on another pillow propped up on her footboard, staring at the ceiling. She was dressed in jean shorts, another white t-shirt, and the same sweat jacket. The light of a neon sign hanging across the street fell across her torso, and Jimmy Eat World blared on her stereo.  
  
She'd managed to get back in the house without her dad being there and decided to take advantage of the quiet time. She guessed she'd have hours; he was probably at the dog track or something picking up women.  
  
Sighing, she picked up the telephone on the floor next to her. Lugging the heavy base up with her left hand, she placed it on her stomach. Placing the receiver to her ear and dialed Max's number. Three rings later Max picked up, "Hey?" the voice greeted.  
  
"Hey," Melanie said sitting up, "Guess what?"  
  
"Ummm, you found a hundred on a manhole cover?"  
  
"That was a stupid guess." Melanie said with a light voice.  
  
"Okay, I can't guess, what?"  
  
"You're pathetic. Anyway, you know how Terry, you and I hung out the night before last?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I went to give him his jacket but he wasn't home. Sooo, I decided to wait it out."  
  
"You sat outside his doorstep?!"  
  
"No! I kinda... broke in."  
  
"Are you serious?! No, duh, of course you're serious, nobody jokes like that." Max ended sensably.  
  
"Yeah well, that's not all." Melanie said.  
  
"Something else happened?" Max said, clearly curious.  
  
Melanie went on to tell her everything that happened in great detail.  
  
"Ohhh myyyy Goddddd." Max said after a long pause, before cracking up into a fit of laughter.  
  
Melanie smiled weakly, "I should've known you'd find this funny."  
  
"Well come on, it's not like you're pregnant or anything lighten up, besides, I just always thought Terry and Dana had gotten around to... you know."  
  
Melanie scrunched up her face, "Who's Dana?"  
  
"Terry's old girlfriend, they broke up a few days ago." Max said, "He didn't tell you?"  
  
"Nooooo! Max, what if I was just some rebound, and he goes back to her tomorrow?"  
  
"Trust me, I talked to Dana the night it happened, they're not getting back together _any_time soon. They're through."  
  
Melanie brought her knees up to her chest, "Now I'm going to have this over my head until tomorrow."  
  
"What're you doing tomorrow?"  
  
"Terry's taking me to the movies, we're going to see Don Saltanpepper's new movie Attack of the Clones IV."  
  
"You're wasting your money."  
  
"Who says we'll be _watching_ the movie?"  
  
Max burst into another fit of giggles. Finally calming down she responded, "Well, I can't have my girl sulking around her room all night, let's go out, Club Four just opened last weekend. Who knows, you might find a distraction."  
  
Melanie could feel Max's smile radiating through the phone, "All rightttt." she agreed rolling her eyes.  
  
"Great! I'll be there in an hour, gotta have time to make myself sexy!"   
  
"Bye." Melanie said hanging up the phone.  
  
**  
  
Nelson Nash wrapped his arms around his girlfriend Blade's waist and hugged her close, rocking to the fast beat of the music that throbbed above.  
  
He looked at Blade's face and was pleased to find her eyes closed. Good thing, or she would've seen him checking out the brunette across the room.   
  
Her hair had red streaks in it, matching her tight dress to a T. He smiled as she blew him a kiss, he quickly signaled that she meet him upstairs at the end of the song.  
  
She nodded flashing a bright smile, and wiggled past, and up the stairs.  
  
Nelson then continued to grind against Blade's backside as if nothing had happened. He'd make it an initiative to hook up with her before the night ended as well.  
  
Thankful that the song had finally ended, Nelson turned Blade around, and whispered in her ear, "Hey babe, I see one of my old football campbros, I'm gonna go say 'hi' okay?"  
  
Blade nodded, and began dancing to the next song.  
  
Nelson turned from her, and made his way to the stairs, almost missing the older woman in the corner, dancing quite well by herself.  
  
Deciding this was worth a slight detour, he instead elbowed his way to her.  
  
He studied her profile, Long, cascading hair, a perfectly matching jean outfit, and matching shoes. And he had to admit, she filled out her outfit appreciatively. He snuck up to her, then gently took her hand into his, "Hey sweet thing, remind me to thank your mother will you?"  
  
"Whatever for?" she asked, sounding barely interested.  
  
"Why, for creating such a beautiful thing such as yourself." he said smoothly, as if he couldn't understand why she'd even ask.  
  
He frowned lightly as she rolled her eyes, and pulled her hand away, "I'm sorry, I have no interest in a little boy like you."  
  
Nelson's face contorted in anger, "Hey, don't you know how lucky you are that I'm even talking to you?!" he said grabbing her wrists tightly.  
  
The girl licked her lips, and grabbed his lapels with the other, "I'm sorry, I should've known..."  
  
Nelson smiled, "That's better."  
  
"That you were such a jerk!" she said angrily, hitting him in the windpipe, and watching coolly as he fell to the ground unconscious.  
  
Stepping over his lifeless body, she pushed through the crowd ready to leave, but instead deciding to just stay on the other side of the club. She'd deal with him again if she needed to.  
  
--#--  
  
"Do you remember what she looked like?" Terry asked as he and Thomas walked through the entrance past the block long line.  
  
"Barely... Man, I can't believe that I saw my sister..."  
  
"We don't know if that's really her or not, I mean, we could be wrong." Terry said scanning the room.  
  
"Just describe her to me, maybe I can spot her."  
  
"Okay, long brown hair, wavy and full. Gorgeous as hell, ummm, lithe."  
  
"Lithe?" Thomas questioned, wrinkling his brow.  
  
"Yeah, that's how all the chick magazines describe girls her size."  
  
"You read chick magazines?"  
  
"No! My friend Max gave me a quiz out of one a couple of months ago."  
  
"Oh. Hmmm, let's see. If I know my dad, and somewhat know Selina, and the kinda kids they'd so happily produce... and I think I do. She wouldn't be in a crowd, maybe off to the side drumming to her own beat. Like her." Thomas theorized, pointing at a woman who fit their criteria dancing in the corner.  
  
Terry looked in that direction then felt his heart fall in his shoes, "Oh my God, you're great at this, now I really don't understand why you're not in the family business."  
  
"I told you it's not my thing." Thomas answered in a small voice, staring dazed at the figure before him.  
  
"Well, let's go make daddy happy!" Terry said pushing Thomas's frozen body towards her.  
  
"Terry!" two voices called from over their shoulders.  
  
Terry spun around, taking a reluctant Thomas with him. Melanie, and Max came running up to him.  
  
"Hey Ter, who's the hottie?" Max asked eyeing the preoccupied Thomas, who'd lost sight of his sister, and was trying desperately to find her through the thickening crowd.  
  
"Max, Melanie, this is Thomas Wayne Jr." Terry said elbowing Thomas so he'd get the point.  
  
"Hello." Thomas greeted in sad voice, even now he seemed distracted.  
  
"Hey handsome." Melanie said tickling his strong chin.  
  
Terry huffed and pulled her into his arms, "Hey, I thought you called me?"  
  
"Chill, you already know the deal, come on let's dance." Melanie said trying to pull him out to the dance floor.   
  
"Uhhh, sorry Mel, I can't, I'm working."  
  
"That's pretty lame ass Terry, you're at a club!"  
  
"No, see I'm here looking for somebody for Mr. Wayne, maybe you've seen her."  
  
"What does she look like?" Melanie asked letting go of his arm.  
  
"Long wavy brown hair, wearing a blue jean outfit, about five, five."  
  
"Nope, but _maybe_ she's on the floor."  
  
Terry took a moment to think back to how bad things had gone with Dana. He didn't want to make the same mistake again... "Okay." he said with a smile. "But keep an eye out for her."  
  
"Sure." Melanie agreed.  
  
Thomas stared angrily at Terry, "That doofus!" he said, his frown deepening.  
  
"What's wrong, you guys supposed to be working right now?"  
  
"What?" Thomas snapped, only having heard half.  
  
Max ignored his mood and pulled him closer, whispering in his ear, "Is Terry supposed to be _working_ right now?"  
  
Catching on Thomas' frown only deepened, "How do you know about that?"  
  
Max cringed slightly, his voice had quite an edge to it, and was deep too. "I figured it out myself, your dad knows already if that's what you're all scary about." Max returned with bite.  
  
Thomas only turned back around and scanned the crowd more. She had been _right_ there, now she was gone again.  
  
"What's the matter sexy, you don't look like you're having fun."  
  
"I had a bad day." Thomas said in a 'leave me alone' tone.  
  
"Hmmm, there seems to be plenty of those floating around Wayne Manor, come on, dance with me."  
  
"I can't, I'm looking for somebody." Thomas said, sounding sad again.  
  
"What? You don't like me?"  
  
Thomas eyed her up and down, "No, you look great, I'm just..."  
  
"Following in the footsteps of you're father and ignoring women." Max finished for him.  
  
"No." Thomas said shortly. "I'm busy."  
  
"Uh-huh, I know a brush off when I hear one." she said turning to a guy who'd come up to ask her to dance.  
  
Thomas turned and watched her walk away, feeling sorry that he hadn't taken the opportunity, but his sister came first. She dominated the thoughts in his head. Too bad Terry didn't know his head from his...  
  
--#-- **right as Terry turned around earlier**  
  
Jean walked calmly up to his sister and tapped her on the shoulder.  
  
She turned to him and smiled wide, he was sorry he had to tell her what Wayne had told him.  
  
"Come on, we'll talk outside." he said in a grim voice.

--#--

Jean stared with softened eyes at his dear sister who sat across from him, also staring although cautiously. They'd been leaning against the metal railing that ran around the side of the club for ten minutes now, neither saying anything. Jean hadn't quite found the words he wanted to use, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know. But unfortunately, she had a strong curious streak that didn't match the traits of her mother, grandfather, or supposedly her father's. She'd often wondered as to whom she'd acquired the cursed blessing from that got her into so much trouble. And even now, as she told herself that she didn't want to know, that same curiosity got the better of her. "Brother-" she started, "Did you speak with Wayne tonight as you said?"  
  
Jean noticeably winced and averted his gaze to the ground, a nervous expression haunting his face.  
  
"Jean-Xavier." she said reaching for his arm which he let her grasp within her slender hand, her neatly cut un-polished nails making impressions in the Kevlar material.  
  
He knew she wanted an answer now; they rarely called one another by name, especially when either was suited up. There were too many risks involved with names.  
  
"I-I-I..." Jean started, unable to look her in the eye, mostly because he was afraid that he might not see the same person he had for the last twenty-six years. That he might see Wayne or the woman that was with him piercing his soul.  
  
"You!" called a familiar voice from off to the side.  
  
Both turned their heads, Jean thinking it was the young man from Wayne Manor, his dear sister thinking it was the idiot boy from before. But the elder child, if only by twenty-eight days was correct in his prejudice.   
  
He turned quickly, preparing to take his sister with him, and save them both from the rigid accusations, but she stepped forward with grim determination.  
  
"Cat!" called the voice running up to her, choosing to use the pet name his father had given her.  
  
She stared at him; eyebrows rose quizzically as he stopped in front of her and stared in disbelief. That pet name he'd used had struck a chord in her memory, now it reverberated throughout her brain like a musical note. _Cat... cat... cat... CAT! _Her mind screamed, _You've__ have heard this before, so long ago... Oh remember, damn you, remember!_   
  
She gasped in surprise as Jean stepped in front of her, "You've got the wrong idea I'm afraid." he said, his voice as cold and uninviting as the young man's had been earlier.  
  
"I don't think I do." the man said before looking over Jean's shoulder, "I need to talk to you, I swear, it's crucial."   
  
The tone he used with her was much softer, and his deep voice made it sound as if his throat was coated in velvet. She found herself being drawn to him instantly, as if he was a familiar, if not family.  
  
"She's not talking with you, I'm sorry, but as I said earlier, your father is wrong, and as of now we have no interest in your companionship any further."  
  
"I can speak for myself dear brother if you please!" she said annoyed before coming to the forefront, much to Jean's dismay.  
  
"Whatever is it you wish to speak with me about?"  
  
"Are you sure _he_ won't mind?" the young man said, his voice becoming edgy as he referred to her brother.  
  
"He seems to forget sometimes that I am a grown woman now and do not need him to fight my battles." she said smiling. "By the way, what is your name so that we might no longer be strangers in each other's company?"  
  
The young man's eyebrow went up and he smiled, "My name is Thomas Wayne Jr."  
  
"You mean you are Bruce Wayne's son? My brother spoke with him this evening, is that why you two are having such a problem with one another?" she said with a large smile that mimicked her mother's.  
  
Thomas felt his heart stop, but fell back into bad spirits when Jean huffed behind her. Coupled with the fact that she was unknowingly saying her father's name, and he was grief stricken.  
  
"Yes, certain things have come to light that I feel you should know about. It would be helpful if you came to Wayne Manor tomorrow so that we could discuss this with _civility_." Thomas said, his eyes cutting to Jean's with his last word.  
  
"I'm sure that can be arranged." she said, smile widening.  
  
"Sister!" Jean said insistently from behind her.  
  
"I've made my decision, now whether you come or not is under your own discretion!" she said turning to him.  
  
Upon turning back around, she was surprised to find Thomas gone with no trace. Shrugging, she decided to go back into the club. Whatever her brother had to say, it could wait a few hours. 

  
*2008*  
  
Bruce stared, eyebrows raised, heart racing, at the tiny body below him. Various tubes ran down her throat and through her navel. They were VAC lines actually.   
  
He stuck his hand through the opening on the side of the ventilator and smiled slightly as a much smaller hand grasped his finger tightly. He shook the finger up and down slowly and formally introduced himself to his little girl. "Hello Aidia. I'm sorry this is the first time that you have seen me, but the doctors wouldn't let me see you until now."  
  
He felt himself tearing, and used his other hand to wipe away the moisture from the corner of his eyes.   
  
Aidia had been born two and a half months premature. Her lungs weren't fully developed and she was on a ventilator.  
  
He watched as her little chest raised up and down, air being measured and eased into her lungs bit by bit. He smiled appreciatively. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.  
  
"Dr. Carmichael said that soon your mother and I could hold you, just as soon as you can breathe on your own. You're my little angel, my little penny candy, my baby star, the brightest thing in my world. My dearest little Aidia. One day we will sit around and talk about how close you came to... we'll laugh maybe, or maybe just smile."  
  
He didn't jump as hands traveled over his shoulders and found each other against his stomach. He knew it was Selina. He was glad that she didn't speak to him, that she only wanted to enjoy the silence.  
  
They both stared at their daughter, each silently swearing not to stray too far from her side.   
  
They both knew how hard everything had been. What with everyone up and walking out of their separate lives, all they had had was each other. They had fallen deeper in love with each other than they ever had at any other time in their on again off again relationship. They'd married, and then had been told that because of the ridiculous stress in their lives that having children was unlikely.  
  
They had both agreed that that was fine, and had tried to convince themselves of such. But it was hard walking hand in hand at the park and seeing all the children run past. No one could truly understand the elation they had felt when Selina had missed her period and had been confirmed pregnant. And now no one could understand their despair at having almost lost that same miracle child. No one could sense the desperation of their nightly prayers and discussions with their priest as they worried over her. And now there was nothing left but to leave it to fate or chance. Bruce didn't believe in fate, and Selina didn't believe in chance. But both had found life again and were determined to hold onto it with a deathly grip if only for Aidia.  
  
…If only for their little penny candy.  
  
Their little Cat.


	6. Duck and Run

**Disclaimer: Batman and all related characters belong to DC Comics; the song "Duck and Run" belongs to 3 Doors Down. Characters and lyrics are used without any intention of gaining profit. Quayin is pronounced: Cain. Reference is made to characters from the TPB Son of the Demon**  
  
Their love swirled around them, magnifying every desperate urge times infinity. Thoughts of encounters past melted into one another as they became young lovers then bitter foes then contented married folk all at once. Reconstructing the complicated dance of many nights and urgent slashes being offered. Reminders of the bruises caused by a quick strike here, and the excruciating pain of a knee or elbow there. Cries sounded with grunts as each fight became more passionate and heartfelt to even be called sexual. Until their efforts became improvident, and the morning dissolved into hours spent in each other's naked arms, bodies pressed together the evening a distant memory. Jewels returned, millions donated to charity, apologies made and accepted became a white gold diamond band left at home so as not to be made a target, and the announcement of a wedding. Wayne and Kyle on the registry, no gifts twice, eight months of planning and one fantastic starry night the scene of the blessed event. Three years of the two of them and a butler, patience a must, the intensity of the household almost suffocating and then finally giving way to the relief of their first and only child. A girl named Aidia.  
  
--#--  
  
Selina gently pressed her lips to a exaggeratedly long scar that ran down Bruce's back. She'd placed it there decades before with her own whip. She felt him shift in his sleep, and chose to stay still. The promise of her own dreams comforting her weren't far away when she chose to stay quiet. Her eyes roamed over his torso. Her eyes had softened to the sight after so many years, but it never ceased to amaze her how much he sacrificed his body for their city. Various raised lacerations, now healed, crisscrossed his bronze skin. She ran her fingers through his hair and found even more concealed scars, no doubt caused by a few good shots to the head with blunt objects. She grimaced; it was a wonder how he withstood it all, especially since she had made it her aim to cut him every time she saw him. The last straw had been when she shot him in the arm with a bolt from a borrowed crossbow. That had truly been an accident, and she'd even helped him remove it. From that moment on they had sworn not to cause any unnecessary harm to each other. It also didn't hurt that he never found out that the crossbow had been stolen from Helena Bertinelli's apartment that very same night, and returned just as discretely the next afternoon. Selina smiled and closed her eyes, nope it didn't hurt at all.  
  
**  
  
Thomas sat drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair his sat in. The sitting room was silent as he contemplated his next move. Should he go upstairs and tell his dad and Selina that he thought he found Aidia or let them sleep or whatever they were doing? He hadn't been entirely truthful earlier that night when he'd told Terry how he felt. To put it straight the thought of his dad, as old as he was, doing anything with anybody gave him the heebie jeebies. He shivered.  
  
He himself hadn't taken that plunge yet, much to his brothers' surprise. He'd even broken it off with his high school sweetheart Valencia Kravitz- Hall because she wasn't willing to wait for marriage. He smiled, what a complete turn-around. He'd known Valencia since he was two years old, her grandfather was Lucius Fox, his father's old business partner. Her father was Jaden Hall, Paxton Powers half-brother. Her mother was Taina Kravitz, Lucius' daughter by his first marriage. Valencia had Spanish, French, English, African American, and Jewish roots, and didn't disclude herself from anything. They'd been best friends all through elementary and middle school before upgrading to exclusive couple in the ninth. Everyone had expected them to get married and all that white picket-fence crap, but it hadn't turned out that way. She'd gone to a fashion design school in California, and he to an art design school in New York. "All the better to avoid you my dear." he thought ruefully.  
  
Most thought he was taking a cue from his father, ditching you right when things got interesting. That whole "if it gets too hot, get your ass out of the kitchen" mess. But honestly, it had felt more like a freezer. He'd wanted her to be as devoted to him as he was to her, and she felt that they weren't really exclusive until they slept together. What a bust! Soooo, until he made it "official" she was quite openly hanging out with all the other playboys of his stature. He'd been so love struck that he let her do it for a whole year before finally telling her it was over.  
  
That had done it; he had never had so many objects chucked at him at such close range. She'd thrown everything from a blow dryer to a hello kitty figurine to a toaster. He'd managed to duck everything short of the toaster and had been knocked unconscious. When he awoke, she was sobbing over him and apologizing and the whole nine yards, but he didn't want to hear it, and left.  
  
Now he sat, in his father's house, accused of drug possession, caught up in the most stressful yet relieving drama of his life yet, and had no idea of what to do.  
  
Picking up the telephone, he decided that things could get neither worse nor better and dialed the number to his mother's apartment in SoHo.  
  
**  
  
Helena sat with her twin grandson and granddaughter Nathaniel and Marla on her lap bouncing them enthusiastically. Her oldest Shane sat across from her, his wife Eva Prisinzano-Wayne leaning against his chest. The telephone rang loudly, causing all five to jump.  
  
"Answer that for me Shane, my hands are full." Helena said redirecting her attention to the hyper two-year-olds.  
  
"Sure thing." Shane said reaching over and picking the crying thing up off of the receiver and pressing it do his ear. "Yeah?" he answered.  
  
"Shane! Oh my god, I'm so glad I got you on the line." said the excited voice on the other end.  
  
"Tommy?" Shane asked motioning for Eva to sit up and let him stand.  
  
"Who is it?" asked Helena.  
  
"It's Tommy." Shane said placing his hand over the mouthpiece, and walking to the opposite side of the room.  
  
"What does he want?" she asked.  
  
"What do you want?" Shane said irritated, it had been over a month since they'd last spoken, and he was sore about the lack of contact.  
  
"Geez, is that anyway to speak to me? Besides, I'm in a lot of trouble."  
  
"What'd you do?" Shane hissed, trying to make sure his mother didn't hear.  
  
"I got suspended indefinitely for drug possession."  
  
"You're kidding me!" Shane said, keeping his voice lowered. "You dumb ass!"  
  
"No, someone set me up I swear!"  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
"Pop's house."  
  
"How'd he take it?" Shane asked, as he began to pace. Things like this always made him nervous.  
  
"He threatened to call mom, look you gotta cover for me until I can get this straightened out. That way, I can say I called mom, and she doesn't actually have to know."  
  
"You're skating on thin ice pal, but fine, I'll cover for you. You just better hold up you're end of the bargain." Shane said running his other hand through his light blond hair.  
  
"Thanks buddy, oh and guess what?!"  
  
"What?" Shane said flatly.  
  
"We found Aidia."  
  
Shane almost dropped the phone in disbelief. "You better not be shitting me. Or I swear to God that I'll make you disappear!"  
  
"That's a sin." Thomas said laughing.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, okay altar boy, what's going on out there?"  
  
"She just appeared in the city, she invited Batman, Dad, and her mom to come to Ra's Al Ghul's complex. She doesn't even remember who Dad is to her, let alone Selina."  
  
"So what exactly is going on, are they going, are you going?"  
  
"I don't know what their going to do. But I invited her over to the manor tommorow so we can break the news to her. Now I just gotta tell Dad and Selina."  
  
Shane ground his teeth back and forth, a nervous habit, and contemplated. "Tell Dad I'm coming down. I'll leave the kids with Mom, and Eva and I'll come down there. We should all handle this together."  
  
"What about Issac?"  
  
Shane sighed, "I'll try him, but I doubt he comes."  
  
"Alright! Hey, thanks bro!"  
  
"You're welcome, bye." Shane said hanging up the phone.  
  
"What did he want?" Helena asked for the second time, this one more pressing.  
  
"Oh nothing really, just your basic Tommy gibberish."  
  
"Oh." Helena said not really believing him. Shane was becoming more and more like Bruce each day. Preferring not to tell the whole story until he got his facts together. She'd let him get away with it for now, but sooner or later he was going to have to spill it.  
  
Shane groaned. "Just when life had settled down a little."  
  
**  
  
"All my work and endless measures  
  
Never seem to get me very far  
  
Walk a mile just to move an inch  
  
Now even though I'm trying so  
  
Damn hard  
  
I'm trying so hard"  
  
**  
  
Jean-Xavier sat placidly on the dark side of the moon, eyes roaming over craters and the like, tracing stick figures in the dust.  
  
He recalled, when he was a child, his father used to bring him up here and play hide and seek with him. Hours of fun for free.  
  
He frowned and lay back across the cold ground. This was getting harder and harder each second.  
  
"I don't want to deal with this!" he said bitterly as he instead cast his gaze to the heavens.  
  
He observed a "teardrop" star as it fell from its place into the inky black of the sky. He felt something cold stick to his cheeks and reached up to wipe them off only to find it was his frozen tears. He stared at the ice particles as they clung to his fingers.  
  
"Why did you let her stay Father?" he asked out loud as if Clark was standing right before him.  
  
"You knew she didn't belong with any of us! You KNEW she wasn't ours! But did you say anything?! Huh?! NO!" he screamed angrily, his voice lost amongst the cosmos.  
  
Jean slammed his hand into the rocky crust in anger and noted the large imprint it made.  
  
Rising from his place, he kicked a rock before leaping into the still space. Propelling himself forward with his legs as if underwater he pushed himself through the earth's atmosphere and let himself freefall towards earth, not quite caring where he landed.  
  
** Ra's stared at the table before him, lavished with any kind of food a man could desire. To his left sat his second in command since Ubu's death at the hands of Quayin. Clark Kent, or the Superman, a man strong enough as to knock the moon out of orbit.  
  
To his right sat his beautiful daughter, growing older and older by the days. Not too much later will she not join the rest of his children from past relationships in the world beyond. Archimedes was the last to die only thirty years before at the age of one hundred and forty.  
  
Ahhhh, he stared at her, contemplated the look on her face. He could sense a hint of disappointment, could it possibly be that she hasn't yet gotten over the Detective?  
  
She had his child so long ago, but the baby was lost due to stress. Soon afterward, the Detective had claimed he wanted nothing more to do with either one of them. Their, or rather his ideals were too much.  
  
Then he had gone on and married that damn Catwoman, but who could fault him on that? The woman had eyes like an aqua flame, and a body like a goddess.  
  
He drove his fork into the table in rage, much to the surprise of his company.  
  
Where was his life headed now?  
  
"Tell Jean-Xavier to get back here right now, we have business to discuss."  
  
--#--  
  
Clark quirked his eyebrow and switched his gaze from his lovely wife to his father in law. The man had just shoved his fork into the table's smooth exterior. He pursed his lips and shook his head.  
  
"Tell Jean-Xavier to get back here right now, we have business to discuss." the old man said rather nastily.  
  
Clark nodded half-impressed; the man was a shadow of his former self. He had to constantly remind himself to bide his time and be patient. But it was becoming harder and harder to watch this man go on about the impurities and sins of man. Clark had once shared his notion, even to the point of believing himself to have been completely betrayed by everyone around him.  
  
He closed his eyes at the thought. Darkseid and Granny Goodness had completely possessed his brain. They'd used him to attack the earth in such a brutal manner that he was exiled from the United States. Ra's had found him and took advantage of his fragile state of being, molding him into his fanatical image.  
  
For a long while it had worked, but slowly and surely his sanity had returned. Then Ra's had done something that made Clark begin to hate him.  
  
He'd kidnapped Bruce Wayne's child, a little girl of two with brown hair and sharp blue eyes.  
  
Clark had then retired to his quarters, separate from Talia's, and turned everything in his sight into ashes. They'd found him the next morning asleep in a corner. He'd told them he was fine, and was just letting off a little stress, and thankfully they had believed him. He'd let Ra's do his dirty work of raising the child himself. She wasn't his first concern. He had to wait until it was absolutely clear that Ra's was insane, when he had everything he needed and wanted short of his dreams at close hand. Then he would step in and kill Ra's with his bare hands.  
  
He'd already talked with Talia about it several times, and she'd confided in him that she too had grown tired of his endless pursuits and exploits. She was ready to help her mate in everyway possible, so that her father could finally have peace. Or chaos if it was so decided by the Most High.  
  
Clark smiled thinly and excused himself from the table. It was time to let his son in on their plans. 


	7. Pieces to the puzzle

**Disclaimer:  All characters and locations immediately recognizable as property of DC comics, the child company of AOL-Time Warner are.  Other characters are of my own creation unless noted otherwise.  And many places around the globe mentioned are actual places unless otherswise noted.  Aslan the Lion is a character in the classic novel _The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.**_

Aidia stood proudly over Ali as he gnawed down on a steak.  

The little puff of fur was as close to a son as she was willing to have right now. She laughed as she thought back to when she was a little girl and wanted to have a ton of her own kids. Now one seemed just right, if that. She wasn't doing too well in the husband department…  

Quickly she decided not to dwell on that thought, and instead remembered the young man in the alley. What had he said his name was? Tim... Timmy... Tommy... _Thomas_! That's it! Thomas Wayne Jr. the future heir to the Wayne family billions and Bertinelli millions. The boy was swimming in proverbial dough. And he was a sweetheart if she ever met one; Jean's anger had been more than misdirected.  
  
There was something about him that was nagging her though. She knew that no one in her family had blue eyes. They were all brown with deep black hair that reflected the sun and appeared blue in low lighting. And it certainly wasn't wavy like her own.

She held a knee length dress before her, Ruffled hem, ties at one side, and one strap instead of two. She smiled appreciatively; it was a Lana Lang classic that she'd bought this morning in the shopping district for two hundred and sixty dollars.   
  
Going back to her closet, she picked out a pair of strapless heels to wear with it and started to change.  
  
**  
  
Thomas paced nervously back and forth in front of the main fireplace, mumbling to himself. He was wearing a black suit, white dress shirt, with a two-tone black and white, satin long-tie. His hair was for once combed to the back.  
  
Shane and Eva sat tiredly in each of the large chairs to his left. They'd caught the earliest plane heading for Gotham, leaving Helena with the twins and a dodgy explanation. Both were struggling to keep their eyes open.  
  
Bruce and Selina sat silently on the couch, their eyes following his movement like spectators at a tennis match. Bruce was getting fed up, he wanted to tell Thomas to sit down and calm himself, but snapping at him wouldn't help, so he stayed quiet. 

He snuck a look at Selina, she sat rubbing the inside of her index fingers with her thumb. He ached to tell her how beautiful she looked staring forward in tense thought, but that too he kept to himself.  
  
**  
  
Aidia slowly slipped the sleeping Ali into his cage. She couldn't take him with her, and he certainly couldn't be trusted not to ransack the hotel room while she was gone so this was the only alternative.  
  
Locking the door behind her, she took the elevator to the lobby, greeted the doorman, hailed a cab and instructed him to the outskirts of the city.  
  
--#-- thirty-nine minutes of car ride later:   
  
Aidia paid the cab driver and stared up at the old house totally unsure of herself. Her stomach felt like she'd swallowed worms, and her throat was dry.  
  
_Come on, you've been through worse, like that time in __Egypt__. You can do this!_ She said to herself as she started up the path.  
  
**  
  
Thomas was the first one to catch the cab's headlights as they bathed the wall. He turned sharply and rushed to the window, "She's here!" Thomas exclaimed sounding like a child who was about to open his Christmas presents.  
  
Shane bolted up and they raced each other to the door pushing and swatting at each other immaturely.  
  
They had purposely left the gates open for her, so neither was surprised when the doorbell chimed.  
  
Thomas twisted the doorknob violently and swung the door open, Aidia stood before him, with an odd look on her face, her hand in the air and made into a fist, poised to knock.  
  
The two men stood there with goofy grins on their own countenances, each too momentarily shocked to actually invite her in.  
  
"Errrrmmmm, Hello." she said waving her fingers at them.

***

Jean landed softly on the outer balcony of his mother's room, wondering absently if he should just storm in or wait like his father told him to. He chose to wait; his father was still his father even if he'd only sat by and watched as Aidia's memories were corrupted.  
  
Jean turned around and stared out at the great expanse. He'd found comfort out on this balcony through his childhood and adolescence having been completely sheltered from contact with other children.   
  
He noticed an ice storm was coming in from the west; it looked like he'd be stuck here for a while.   
  
"Jean?" a soft but strong voice called from behind him.  
  
Jean jumped and turned around, finding his mother alone. His anger lessened and he hugged her, it had been a whole month since he'd last seen her.  
  
He pulled away and Talia frowned at him, "You are angry with me, no?"  
  
Jean took a moment to consider his mother's words, he loved her voice, it was always spoken eloquently in her Russian accented tongue, hinting at her past childhood spent in St. Petersburg with her own mother.  
  
Finally he turned around deciding that the natural anger in his heart would get him the answers he desired. "Mother, why didn't yo—"  
  
"Jean-Xavier, I'm in good spirits once again now that you have returned. Tell me, have you succeeded in getting The Detective and the other's to come here?" interrupted the loud almost soothingly demanding voice of Ra's Al Ghul from behind the both of them.  
  
Jean stepped back as he turned around, afraid that the sight of his grandfather might cause him to throttle the ancient man. He found great comfort and sadness that his father had joined them as well.  
  
"Now Ra's I'm sure there will be time for that later, I think we have other things to discuss." Clark said with a tight smile.  
  
"Yes! That is true! I want to show you all the _real_ reason I requested the Detective's presence at the complex." Ra's agreed, spreading his arms in a grand gesture.  
  
Jean cocked an eyebrow, "Grandfather, I thought that it was because you are ill."

Jean quickly studied his grandfather's figure, the man's bones had begun protruding through his skin, that itself was starting to hang from his frame, and liver spots had started to appear at different points on his body.  
  
"Yes and no. Yes I am ill but not to the extent that I would ever let it foil my plans."  
  
"What plans exactly do you speak of father?" Talia asked confusedly.  
  
Ra's motioned for them to follow him. They were lead down numerous halls and tunnels, then and entirely different labyrinth of corridors and passages until they reached a room deep in the core of the complex. Ra's paused before two steel doors and typed into a keypad camouflaged in the wall.  
  
Everyone else watched in silent shock as the doors parted and Ra's instructed them through.  
  
"This I have been working on for the better part of the last thirty years, it is even older than you my dear heir." Ra's said a large proud smile appearing on his face.  
  
"What is this?" Jean asked, his stomach tightening with dread.  
  
Around the four figures were giant towers of computer equipment and long arches of tubes filled with unidentifiable liquids heading every which way. In the middle of the room was a large glass capsule filled with fluid. It was bathed in a golden yellow light and whatever was inside was obscured by a smoke like haze.  
  
"Oh my god." Jean said eyebrows rising in fear. "Please tell me this is not what I think it is."  
  
"Oh no my grandson, it is all quite real." Ra's said, placing a slowly weakening hand on Jean's shoulder. He knew Jean had used his X-ray vision to see inside. "Just wait until you see what it can do."

**Orléans, Centre-Val-de-Loire, France, 1998**  
  
Ra's stared coldly at Talia's unresponsive body. He'd slipped a tranquilizer into her coffee and now was preparing to have her taken downtown for surgery.  
  
He'd spent the last few years devising the plan, and this was just the first in a long line of complicated moves. He had commissioned the help of a French surgeon indebted to him named Algernon Baginton. Dr. Baginton had been reluctant to do the surgery but seeing no other way to settle up, he agreed.  
  
He was to leave no more of a scar than was human possible and was to retrieve as few eggs from her womb as possible. He'd then send them to a fertility lab in Brussels that would keep them preserved.  
  
When Talia awoke he would tell her that she fell ill and fainted and that the doctor had performed surgery that had saved her life. It was all simple child's play in his opinion. His daughter was raised not to question his word and he got what he wanted without a problem.  
  
  
**2003 somewhere in the middle of Antarctica, very early January**  
  
"So you've made your decision?" Batman asked while feeling in his heart he already knew the answer.  
  
Talia nodded and glanced at the portrait above the mantel.  
  
She and the Batman had just returned from a very "productive" New Year's in South America tracking an elusive terrorist who also happened to be a very serious threat to Ra's operation.  It was in both men's best interest to have him subdued and in Interpol's custody.  
  
Batman felt his heart heave with emotion as he turned away from the wretchedly gorgeous sight and stared out the balcony window. He felt rage flow throughout his veins as he prepared to speak.   
  
"Talia I--" he started as a blunt object connected with the back of his skull.  
  
--#--  
  
Ra's smiled as he stared at Batman's prone body on the stretcher. The dark knight detective looked rather smaller than himself unconscious and stripped of his frightening attire.  
  
"Ahhh, one would very much compare this to the conquering of Aslan the Lion wouldn't it my dear?" Ra's said to Talia who was behind him in the shadows.  
  
"Yes father." Talia said looking at neither her father nor her lover strapped to the table.  
  
"Yes, now that his wonderfully full 'mane' of sorts has been shaved we find our dear friend here to be nothing more than a pussycat, yes a very large pussycat, but a pussycat nonetheless."  
  
Talia remained silent.  
  
Ra's noticed her lack of enthusiasm and turned to her, "Is there a problem daughter?"  
  
"I don't understand why we must do this father, especially when he has done so much for our cause."  
  
"Reluctantly." Ra's added for her.  
  
"But still--"  
  
"Listen now daughter, you will neither worry for this man nor concern yourself of my business with him, is that clear?"  
  
"Yes father."  
  
Ra's turned to her and produced a syringe. "You will retrieve his semen now. I will give you your privacy."  
  
Talia's face melted in sadness and for a moment Ra's thought of doing it himself, but he above all appreciated the irony of the situation. He chose instead to offer her a kind thought: "Do not worry, I have given him a serum, he will not remember anything that has happened in the last twenty-four hours."  
  
Talia's insides seized, they'd made the most passionate, complete love the night before on the beachfront in Rio De Janeiro.  
  
Ra's opened the door, leaving Talia with the dreaded task.  
  
**early 2006 the same vacant place in Antarctica**  
  
Ra's smiled proudly as he observed his daughter's swollen belly as she settled into her place at the dinner table. Not too much later would he have a grandson on his hands. He could tell it was a boy just by the way Talia carried herself.  
  
Across from her sat his second Kal-El. Ra's had chosen to use his birth name as that was what was most natural to him.  
  
Their courses were served and eaten without much conversation and each retired to their separate quarters.  
  
Ra's waited excitedly for the hour of eleven to strike. He'd had one of his cooks slip a ridiculously strong tranquilizer into Kal-El's meal, but because of the man's foreign body he'd decided to wait a few hours before checking to make sure it had run it's course.  
  
Finally the clock struck the prescribed hour and Ra's made a hasty leave to Kal-El's bed chamber to retrieve his comrade's felled body.  
  
--#--  
  
This time Ra's did not call his daughter to his side, he'd seen the pain on her face the last time he'd administered the needle to one of her 'acquaintances'. No, he thought best to do it himself as there wasn't quite so much amusement in the process this time. It to him had finally become a mundane scientific act that would come to fruition too far in the future to even consider emotions now.  
  
He performed the procedure with some discomfort as he found handling the man to be less than desirable before taking the contents and depositing them into a capsule. He then replaced the capsule next to one labeled with full information on a man named Bruce Wayne.  
  
He, out of pure boredom, picked up the vile and read its label:   
  
Name: Bruce Wayne  
Height: 6'2"  
Weight: 210 Lbs.  
Hair: Black  
Eyes: Blue  
Count: 623 million  
  
That last bit was the amount of sperm counted in the sample. Ra's sighed and replaced the capsule leaving the laboratory.  
  
Everything would be fine in a few years. Fine indeed

**Back in the present: Wayne Manor**  
  
"Uhhhhh…  Do you want to come in?" Thomas asked backing up so that she could come through the door.  
  
"Yes of course." she said smiling.  
  
Thomas smiled briefly before he looked to his dumbstruck brother across from him.  
  
"Uh, Aidia..?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"This is my—_our_ older brother Shane, he lives in New York."  
  
"Oh, hello then." she said outstretching her hand.  
  
Shane took it while still in a daze and tried to say something but the words wouldn't come.  
  
"How about you meet my father and step-mother?" Thomas said trying not to accidentally say anything Bruce might've wanted to say on his own.  
  
He took Aidia's hand and led her to the large living room struggling to keep the enormous smile down. This was too good to be true.  
  
--#--  
  
Bruce watched as his youngest son led his oldest daughter to the archway and stopped, letting both of them get a good look at her.  
  
It was as if he breath had been taken away, she was so beautiful, just as he remembered her, except with a now womanish figure and hair that hung down to her mid-back. He continued staring silently until he felt Selina's grip tighten around his hand dangerously. He turned to look at her and was surprised to find her crying.  
  
"I'm sorry; did I do something to upset you?" Aidia asked his wife, her face melting in concern.  
  
Selina didn't respond, instead she stood and walked over to the woman. Placing her hands tenderly on each cheek she pulled Aidia into a hug. "Oh my, you're so beautiful." she said softly.  
  
Bruce stood and smiled inwardly as he observed Aidia's flattered but confused face as she conceded to hugging her back.  
  
Finally after what seemed like hours, Selina pulled back and wiped her face. Bruce stepped up to spare her any more awkwardness and suggested they eat. They all congregated to the massive dining room and sat around the banquet table.  
  
Selina had spent hours in the kitchen cooking what she knew to be Aidia's favorite meals as a toddler, _Pollos_ al chilindrón_ or chicken with tomato and pepper, and _Arroz___ Abanda or seafood rice.  
  
Thomas, Shane and Eva went with Selina to help bring the meal out, leaving Bruce and Aidia alone for a few minutes.  
  
"Mr. Bruce Wayne I presume?"  
  
Bruce nodded observing her face for traces of himself. She had his eyes and a few of his mannerisms but everything else was Selina's.  
  
Aidia smiled and continued, "I like your house, and it just feels so... familiar."  
  
"Oh?" Bruce said steepling his fingers, remembering that he and Selina had agreed to wait to break the news until after dinner.  
  
"Yeah, I feel like I've been here before, but I don't remember ever seeing this place really."  
  
Bruce sat back into his chair wondering if he should speak but was cut off by the arriving dishes of food. He inhaled and smiled, Selina was still the excellent cook he remembered her to be.  
  
"This smells wonderful, I can't wait." Aidia said smiling fully.  
  
Bruce felt a memory from a different era flash before his mind's eye. She had his smile, the one he wore as an innocent, unsuspecting, secure child in his parent's home. He frowned and pushed the memory back, not caring to remember the emotions that came along with it.  
  
"Well let's say grace." Selina said smiling and bowing her head.  
  
Bruce led them in a quick prayer before everyone began eating their meals. Shane and Thomas each helped themselves to third's and fourth's before Selina denied them anymore fearing they'd eat every last bit. Bruce smiled on the inside again; the both of them had always had enormous appetites.  
  
Finally dinner was over and Thomas, Shane and Eva disappeared within the cavernous manor. Only Selina, Bruce and Aidia remained in the silence.  
  
"It's been a long time Aidia." Bruce started. Both of them had also agreed that Bruce would do the better job of breaking the news to her being he was in much more emotional control than Selina was capable of at the moment.  
  
Aidia's eyebrows shot up instantly, "I'm not sure what you mean Mr. Wayne."  
  
Bruce sighed and then continued unabated, "I searched this house top to bottom looking for any signs that might point me in the right direction, but you were gone... It seemed as if forever."  
  
Aidia was speechless, unsure how to reply to his strange barrage of confusing information.  
  
"Do you know who I am?" Bruce asked rising from his seat and choosing to pace before the window.  
  
"Yes, you are the principal shareholder once again in Wayne Enterprises after Paxton Power's abrupt incarceration.  You are also the—"  
  
"No Aidia, do you know who I am to you?" he implored gently.  
  
Aidia appeared put off by his line of questioning. "I'm not sure what you mean Mr. Wayne."  
  
"I would appreciate it if you didn't call me that." he said drawing his lips into a tight line.  
  
Aidia's sat confused in her seat for several minutes trying to process what this man could possibly be trying to tell her.  
  
Bruce sighed and looked to Selina before saying, "Follow me Aidia."  
  
He then led her to the study where he paused before a large grandfather clock. "What I am about to show you doesn't leave your lips except in the company of friends. Do you understand me?" he asked.  
  
Aidia nodded, her perplexed state of mind never ceasing for a moment.  
  
Bruce pulled on the clock tails and watched as the timepiece slid to the side, a doorway appearing from behind it. Bruce took both Selina's and Aidia's hands and led them down the stairway. Selina and Bruce both stopped at the bottom and looked behind themselves at Aidia.  
  
"You're the Batman aren't you?" she asked quietly more as a statement than a question.  
  
Bruce nodded.  
  
"Then you're my father." Aidia stated just as quietly, "Grandfather never told me that you were Bruce Wayne, he always said--"  
  
"He's not your grandfather." Bruce stated firmly.  
  
"Yes he is, because his daughter is my mother and--" Aidia started indignantly.  
  
"No, I know what they told you, Talia is __not your mother, she never will be."  
  
"You're lying." Aidia said angrily, her brow furrowing.  
  
"No I am not. They took you from us when you were two." Bruce said. It was taking his everything to stay calm.  
  
"And who exactly is 'us'?" Aidia asked.  
  
"Selina and myself." Bruce said his grip on Selina's hand tightening.  
  
"What are you talking about; Grandfather would never do such a despicable deed."  
  
"He would and he did." Selina said.  
  
Bruce glanced at her from out of the corner of his eye, she was shaking. He couldn't tell if it was nerves or rage.  
  
"I wanted to _kill_ that man for what he did to us. Not only did he take you, but he destroyed our marriage for whatever nonexistent little reason he could." Selina said closing her eyes, and reminding herself of that pain.  
  
"Jean tried to warn me, I can't believe I didn't listen to him, he tried to tell me that you were going to say this. I bet you aren't my real father at all. This is all probably some stupid little museum you started when your company went belly up." Aidia said as tears formed and her voice became emotional."  
  
Bruce's face went hard as stone. "I'm only going to tell you this once Aidia Ava Wayne and you will not question me again, I am your father, and Selina is your mother, Ra's al Ghul kidnapped you when you were two years old."  
  
"Nooooo..." Aidia moaned her voice near silent.  
  
"Didn't you ever wonder why you had blue eyes and brown hair when everyone else's was black?"  
  
"No--no--no." Aidia sank to the ground and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Whyyyy would he do that?"  
  
Selina knelt down on the floor next to her and pulled her into a hug. "To get back at us, he was resentful that Bruce married me instead of Talia, and that I married Bruce instead of him.  We weren't about to give him an heir either way."  
  
"That doesn't make sense."  
  
"It's mostly because men like Ra's don't understand love over obligation… or anything else emotional for that matter."  
  
"What did he want with me?"  
  
"If he couldn't have us, he knew he could get to you. You're our child, everything he wanted out of us most of all. I thank god you weren't born a boy, who knows what could have happened then."  
  
"So Jean isn't my brother?"  
  
"No baby, but Shane, and Thomas are."  
  
"I'm sorry Sel-- I mean, __Mother. I had no idea." she looked up, "I'm sorry __Father, I-- I didn't mean what I said."  
  
Bruce smiled and lifted them both to their feet into an embrace, "That not important, what's important is that you know that truth."  
  
"Yes, the truth." Aidia said burying her head into Bruce's chest._

**One October evening 2008**  
  
Bruce drummed his fingers along the countertop absently, eyes glued on the spectacle before him. Across from him Selina was breastfeeding Aidia, and casually glancing his way every now and then before returning her attention to their child.  
  
It had been seven up and down months since she was born, filled with sorrow, excitement, and almost surprisingly content. He smiled; he'd expected that at least _someone_ would be interested in kidnapping their joy, or any other random stunt, given the city they lived in and his surname. But the last four months, finally with her at home, had been heavenly bliss.  
  
Selina motioned for Bruce to pass her Aidia's diaper which lay on the counter before her, so that she could wipe the baby's mouth. Bruce smiled and handed it to her, his eyes never leaving her's.  
  
"What?" she asked finally, a look of mischief flashing across the cheerful orbs.  
  
"Hm?" Bruce asked lightly, his smile widening even more.  
  
"You've been staring at me for the past thirty minutes, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were getting ideas." she said as she burped Aidia.  
  
His smile disappeared and for a second she thought she was mistaken, but then his mouth turned in a devilish smirk, and for that moment he was every bit the reprobate he pretended to be.  
  
Selina's mouth fell open slightly and she cocked her head in curiosity, feeling herself flush from his full on stare she turned away and tried not to smile. She'd forgotten in the all consuming worries of parenthood how darkly handsome and downright naughty her husband could be. "Don't make me have to spank you..." she said smiling fully.  
  
"Ah-hem!" grunted the appropriately stern voice of Alfred to their left as he cleared his throat in warning.  
  
Both turned to the stiff figure in the kitchen doorway. "Your company is requested in the living room sir, a Mr. Clark Kent to see you."  
  
Selina looked at Bruce whose face was frozen in an embarrassingly blank position, his already tan skin an alarming shade of red. She laughed to herself and gathered Aidia, who had quickly fallen asleep and left.  
  
Bruce's face frowned suddenly as he stood to join Alfred and Clark. He hadn't made love to his wife in months, what with his responsibilities at Wayne Enterprises, and going back and forth to the hospital, and finally the Batman. It was all he could do to find the strength to kiss her goodnight before collapsing into the bed each night.  
  
Both figures turned to him as he appeared in the doorway. "Clark." he growled in his bad mood.  
  
"Bruce." Clark greeted pleasantly, light reflecting off of his wire-frame glasses.

Bruce sat down as Alfred took Clark's coat and left the room, closing the hallway doors behind him.  
  
Clark looked back to Bruce's increasingly agitated expression, raising his eyes slightly in consideration, and taking a seat across from the man. "How's Selina?"  
  
Bruce grunted and leaned back into the chair, "I wouldn't know, I haven't been able to touch her in months."  
  
"Marriage troubles?" Clark asked.  
  
"No, just inconsiderate acquaintances." Bruce growled, wondering if Clark would take the hint or not and hurry it along.  
  
Clark just nodded and smiled, his cornflower colored eyes sparkling.  
  
"There must be _some_ reason why you'd grace my home with your presence. You're exiled if I remember correctly." Bruce said sourly, dropping all politeness in his anger.  
  
Clark's face went stone and he tensed up, "I've already explained to you what happened, I don't think we should have to go over that."  
  
"I wasn't aware that I said anything remotely doubtful."  
  
Clark remained silent. Bruce groaned and put his head back, feeling the beginning of a migraine coming along.  
  
"How's the baby?" Clark asked suddenly.  
  
Bruce snapped his head up; he hadn't exactly announced to the superhero world the birth of his first blood child. He and Selina had decided to keep it to themselves to attract as little attention as possible to Aidia. "How do you..."  
  
"The Justice Society announced it for you; they had a bit of a 'shower' if you will. To celebrate your turn for the normal I suppose."  
  
Clark laughed lightly to himself, Bruce's expression was somewhere between confusion and anger. "I just came by to congratulate you."  
  
Bruce blinked several times before rising and going to the wet bar.  
  
"I thought you didn't drink." Clark said over his shoulder.  
  
"If you'd been through what I've been through in the past few months, you'd drink too." Bruce said pouring a minuscule amount of vodka into a shot glass and sipping it slowly. "And you?"  
  
Clark nodded, "I don't touch the stuff… I guess I don't hold it very well. I drank sparkling white grape juice at my own wedding because I didn't want to risk it."  
  
Bruce returned to his seat and finished his drink, setting the glass on the small table beside him.  
  
"Who'd've thought huh?" Clark asked eyes flashing behind his glasses.  
  
"Thought what?" Bruce asked, feeling himself grow impatient again.  
  
"That us, the so called 'World's Finest' would ever settle down... Raise a family... be... normal?"    

  
Bruce cocked his eyebrow, but remained silent. Clark was right, just five years ago this scenario would've been as remote to him as another dimension. Now he had everything he yearned for in his private dreams. A wife he loved with a passion that couldn't be rivaled, a darling baby daughter...  
  
"Kind of makes everything else seem sooo..." Clark started.  
  
"Unimportant." Bruce finished quietly. He could slowly feel the Batman becoming less and less a part of him, and more and more of Bruce Wayne taking its place. It was becoming a mask again, no longer an extension of him.  
  
"Exactly." Clark replied rising and offering his hand.  
  
Bruce looked up at him and stood to shake.  
  
Clark smiled, "You've never excepted my offer before. Welcome back to the land of the living Bruce, I'm sure a lot of people have missed you."  
  
Bruce knitted his brow and pulled his hand away.  
  
Clark chuckled quietly, turning to leave. "That really is a beautiful family you've got there Bruce. You deserve it. You really do."  
  
Bruce watched as Clark disappeared down the hallway before heading upstairs. That hadn't been what he expected at all.  
  
Upstairs he found that the bedroom was empty but that the bathroom light was on down the hall.  
  
Slowly he pushed the door open, light spilling out into the hallway. Selina sat in the footed bathtub, water up to her chest, Aidia in her arms.  
  
Bruce sat on the toilet lid, content to just watch. He smiled as Aidia tried to eat the suds.  
  
"What did he want?" Selina asked smiling proudly.  
  
"Nothing really."  
  
Selina smirked before adding, "I love you Bruce."  
  
Bruce felt his insides grow warm. "I love you too."

**May 23, 2000**  
  
*Annan, Southwest Scotland, the Powfoot holiday resort*  
  
Selina sat staring out of a window at the great golf course, wondering how she ended up in such a place in her life. Not only had she found herself dating Ra's Al Ghul, but she was also trapped someplace far off from Gotham with no sign of return.  
  
She couldn't remember how she even got to this place. All she knew was that a few days ago, she woke up here, and the first thing that she saw was Ra's. He had a rather strange self-satisfied smile on his face and was going on and on about how she taken ill and hadn't risen for days. Apparently they had been engaged for months before this, and on the eve of their wedding, she had developed food poisoning.  
  
In this position she had no choice but to take what he said at heart until she could figure things out on her own.  
  
She groaned and leaned back into the chair, this might take awhile, and she was getting sick and tired of Ra's constant imploring on her state of health and other things. Everything was fuzzy and it made her head ache to think about it too much. Why couldn't she remember anything?  
  
**Northeast Gotham City**  
  
Batman stood in a frustrated pose at the top of the Gotham Business Affairs Building, every few minutes radioing back and forth to Robin and Batgirl about the status of their search.  
  
The Catwoman had been expected to rendezvous with him the week before about a smuggling deal going down in exchange for a chance to join the bat team. She'd since given up larceny and for the past few months had been helping them solve crimes that required an _experienced_ outlook.  
  
When she didn't show Batman had expected the worse from her and gone about the plan as usual. But now that the ring had been shut down and everything in the clear, she still hadn't appeared. Nothing of her caliber had come up missing, nor had Selina Kyle been seen around the city or at her uptown apartment.   
  
Batman felt a knot of dread catch in his stomach making his eyes water. He quickly willed the feeling away and shot a line towards her apartment building. Sometimes he couldn't stand the way she made him feel. It was a harsh physical pain that rivaled his sadness over his parents' deaths. The sooner he found her and was assured her safety, the sooner the feeling would cease.  
  
Landing on the balcony outside, he picked the lock on her glass patio doors and opened them. Pulling a flashlight out of his utility belt he scanned the floor and walls. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Everything was in order and neat as he knew she liked it to be. He felt something rub against his calf causing him to jump forward and turn ready to attack. A small silverish-gray cat mewed at him with lonely, hungry eyes. He relaxed and picked the animal up and carried him to the kitchen.  
  
Searching through the cabinets he found a can of Fancy Feast ™. Retrieving a can opener from the dish rack, he opened the can and spooned it into a dish. Feeling self-satisfied he stood straight and watched admirably as it ate. Turning around to continue his search he was surprised to find fifteen more pairs of eyes staring at him through the darkness. "You mean to tell me you left sixteen cats here to starve?" he angrily asked the air.  
  
After preparing their meals as well, he went back into the living room to continue his investigation. After dusting for fingerprints, footprints, hair samples, or anything that could lead him to her whereabouts, he felt the frustration welling up in his being all over again. Growling in anger he brought his hands down against the front door.  
  
Turning around, his eyes caught the VCR and TV. Maybe there was something there. Rushing across the room he caught hold of the tapes and sifted through each. One was labeled "Sex and the City ™" another was labeled "Great Expectations™" and the last was labeled "To the Detective." Batman felt his stomach drop through the floor as he recognized the distinct handwriting of one Ra's Al Ghul.  
  
Whipping out the tape, he pushed it into the waiting VCR and turned on the set.  Onto the screen came the smiling face of Ra's Al Ghul in a place he recognized as Southwest Scotland. The ancient man was standing at the Jubilee Brigde.  
  
Batman found his way to the couch and sat down, turning up the volume with the remote at the same time.  
  
"Good evening Detective. By now you are probably wondering where your lovely Catwoman is. Meet me here in Scotland and find out what wonderful plans I have in store for her. I'm sure you will find your stay here more than interesting."  
  
Batman turned the television off, and stalked back to the balcony. Pressing his first two fingers to his temple he radioed to the batcave. "Alfred, prepare the plane for take-off in the morning, I'm on my way back."

***

Alfred stood a little ways away from his frantic employer, knowing full and well it wasn't in his best judgment to question the troubled man. But then again, it also wasn't in his best judgment to let him fly half-way around the world all by himself without more consideration. "What is it exactly that you found at Ms. Kyle's apartment sir?"  
  
"A tape Alfred." Batman growled impatiently as he checked the bat-plane's fuel tanks for the fifth time.  
  
"And who was-- Sir, I already made sure everything was prepared for the flight-- now who was the tape from?"  
  
Batman paused restlessly, "I already told you Alfred."  
  
"No, as I recall you mumbled something about fifteen hungry cats and began racing to and fro aimlessly." Alfred corrected gently but sternly.  
  
Batman crossed the cave floor, rested his hands against the computer's console and took a deep breath. "It was Ra's. He took her to Scotland, and I have no idea what he wants to do with her." he said steadily.  
  
"I see." Alfred answered, "Well you've done everything to prepare for your journey. I'll call Master Dick about filling in for you while you're away. Now upstairs you shall go and wait for me to draw you a bath and prepare a light meal."  
  
Batman decided not to argue with his old friend and instead went to the changing room to get out of his suit and into something a little more appropriate for a civilian.  
  
Not soon later he sat in the master bedroom. His parents had never used the room, they'd chosen more intimate quarters down the hall. When he'd come of age Alfred had had the neglected room fitted with new furniture and the existing pieces burnished for his use. But that intended use was never exactly carried out. He had yet to take a wife and his duties as the Batman left his bed many a night vacant. He looked to the large feather mattress king size bed. He couldn't recall actually sleeping in it more than a few dozen times. Either he slept in the cave, or was stuck at some debutante's boudoir trying desperately to convince her that he needed to get home. "--don't want to worry Alfred." he recalled himself saying nervously.  
  
Unlike what many a tabloid thought, he wasn't some immoral jerk looking for his next big conquest. Early in his adolescent life he'd employed the use of breathing exercises to help him tame his rampant desires. These same exercises had helped him when women pressed themselves against him, trying to proposition him. The basic man in him had screamed 'take them dammit!' but his inner man, the one that reminded him rather remotely of his father, asked him in a calm voice 'what would your mother think?' and then the feeling was dead in the water.  
  
There had been very few women he actually slept with; those women were the one's he truly cared about. Not in that remote 'I have to keep them alive' way, but that 'I want to make sure that their happy as well as alive' way. The list was incredibly short but well meaning. So far there were three people, in order of first encounter, Talia, Silver St. Cloud, and Vesper Fairchild. But two of those relationships had run their course, and the first was increasingly becoming just a 'I have to keep them alive'. The happy was starting to matter much less and less. Every time Talia turned her back on him for her father he felt just one more icicle stab that special place in his heart that she had warmed.  
  
But where did that leave Selina?  
  
He had to admit that these last few months had been unbelievable. She'd not only completely turned her back on her old ways, but had succeeded in forming a kind of working friendship with everyone throughout the group, even Dick, who had been on the receiving end of a few of her two-faced agendas. Everyone had welcomed her into the inner circle and she'd accepted it willingly. She'd made an effort that had endeared to him like nothing else. She'd done what Talia couldn't do, forsake her past and embrace a positive future without looking back. And then she'd done what Silver couldn't do, and that was to accept the Batman for what it was, and accept the man behind that mask. The remarkable thing was that she still didn't even know who that man was.   
  
He felt that familiar feeling come back. What did that mean? Was he making room for her in his heart? Was she warming that space that the other three women had over time chipped away at and broke off? Was she rebuilding the long-thought-dead emotion in him?  
  
Did he find himself in an early kind of love with her?  
  
He had to admit, she was the first woman who hadn't tried to change him despite his trying to change her, or at least accept another way of thinking.  
  
But before it had always been flirting and the usuals. Her providing the flirting and he the usuals. She told him how sexy it was when his eyes narrowed to little slits and he slapped the cuffs on her. Then she'd say something about how she loved it when he got temperamental and kissed him. Then it was all he could do to tell that inner basic man to shut up and let him do his job. At the end of the night, his bed was still empty.  
  
"Your bath is ready sir. Do try to relax. This has got you in a state of panic." came Alfred out of nowhere, startling him out of his thoughts.  
  
Bruce rose slowly then took his towel and excused himself.  
  
"Heaven help him." Alfred said looking to the ceiling. "And now that you mention it, me as well."


End file.
